Survivor
by nucleargirl
Summary: CHAPTER 23! Yes it has been years lol so enjoy! JS of course, Sarah is not wanted at home anymore and is wished away into he waiting arms of Jareth. But now there is a war afoot and Jareth will soon have 2 fight to save his kingdom
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Labyrinth or any of the characters from Labyrinth they belong to Jim Henson, everything else is mine.

**Surviver**

The rain lashed into Sarah's face as she marched home. Karen was going to kill her for sure, this was the fifth time this week she had been late.

"I don't see what her problem is" Sarah grumbled to herself. "Its not like I'm out drinking or doing drugs, I just like to spend time at the library" she continued.

Thunder rolled in the distance and Sarah upped the pace deciding to take a short cut through the woods. She shivered as she looked around, it wasn't even dark yet, still she broke into a run in a bid to make her visit through the woods as brief as possible.

The rain was thundering down and by the time Sarah got home she was soaked through, she carefully opened the door and slipped into the house hoping she wouldn't be heard

How wrong she was, Karen was standing in the hall, hands on hips looking fiercely at her step daughter..

"Sarah look at the time" she yelled, "do you not know what I mean when I say be back at nine o'clock at the latest, you can tell the time cant you?"

"Yes" Sarah mumbled staring at her feet

"Sarah I can't hear you!" Karen shouted

"I said yes" Sarah shouted back. "I'm not a child anymore, so stop treating me like one!"

"If you didn't act like a child I wouldn't have to treat you like one!" Karen yelled back, fuming. "I think you should go to your room Sarah," Karen continued as she pointed up the stairs.

Sarah stormed past muttering to herself and slammed her bedroom door closed.

"Who does she think she is?" Sarah moaned as she kicked her shoes across the room "I'm nearly 19 years old and she treats me like I'm 12 or something."

She flung open her wardrobe with such force that one of the boxes sitting on top off it fell off onto the floor.

"Crap", she hissed as the contents spilled onto the floor.

She bent down and began to tidy up the mess and she heard a loud knock at the door.

"What?" she yelled not even bothering to look round.

Karen opened the door and popped her head in. "Sarah your room is a mess! You really need to tidy it up."

Sarah turned round her hands full of old books and toys "what the hell do you think I'm doing Karen." She shouted.

Karen pointed her finger menacingly at her. "Don't speak to me like that Sarah." She said quietly but sternly as she stepped further into the room and started looking around. Sarah made a face at her stepmother as her back turned. "You are getting older now Sarah and well" Karen hesitated, "Your father and I have been thinking its time you moved out."

"What!" Sarah screamed

"Sarah keep your voice down you'll wake Toby" Karen said calmly her back still turned. She bent down and started looking under Sarah's bed.

Sarah stood up" You can't kick me out!" Sarah shouted defiantly. "And why the hell are you snooping around under my bed!"

Karen looked round still on her hands and knees and sighed "yes Sarah we can 'kick you out' and as you said earlier your not a child any more and Robert agrees it is time. Also we cant really afford to keep this house any more since your father lost his job and has to work nightshift at that infernal fast food place." Karen said, an edge of bitterness in her voice

"I've found a nice flat in town and its just not big enough for all four of us I'm afraid." Karen looked up at Sarah, her face full of fake sympathy and continued to sweep her hand under Sarah's bed "I'm looking for the bear a gave Toby for his last birthday since you asked. All he has at the moment is that moth eaten hand me down of yours" She continued. "Don't worry we'll help you find a little place of your own" She smiled sweetly at her stepdaughter, though the smile did not extend to her eyes.

Sarah was about to give Karen a piece of her mind when Toby peered round the door clutching Lancelot and sucking his thumb. "Hey sweetie, can't you sleep?" Sarah said softly and smiled at her brother.

"I woked up," Toby mumbled

"Come over here and give your big sis a hug then," She said smiling and knelt down on the floor opening her arms to Toby.

"Sarah I told you not to shout so loud" Karen barked at her. Sarah glared at her over Toby's shoulder.

Karen pulled something out from under Sarah's bed and waved it in the air. "Another one of these bloody fantasy books" She yelled as she dumped the book on her bed. "Maybe if you had kept your nose out of these kinds of books you could have got good enough grades to go to college this year"

Karen then pulled something big, blue and fluffy out from under the bed "Ah here we are Toby look who it is, Mr Snuggles." Toby Suck his tongue out. "Don't do that now Toby, come on I think its off to bed with you now."

"Sawah put me to bed." Toby yawned.

"Oh very well" Karen grumbled and marched out of the room complete with the bear and the book.

"Come on sleepy head" Sarah whispered and scooped Toby into her arms.

She placed Toby in his bed and sang softly to him. Karen stuck her head round the door.

"Sarah stop that infernal singing you'll wake him again, go and tidy your room we can talk more in the morning" she whispered menacingly and then disappeared back into her room.

Sarah softly kissed Toby on the forehead "sweet dreams" she whispered and quietly left his room and switched off the light.

Karen sat on her bed looking at the little red book. She turned it over, "Labyrinth" She said out loud and began to flick through the book pausing every so often to read a few lines. "No wonder that girl has to repeat her senior year," She grumbled. "Gobins, mazes, Fairies, kings, magical powers. She is dreaming her life away." Karen took the hairbrush from her dressing table and sat on the edge of her bed brushing her hair.

Sarah flung her door open and was about to slam it shut when she remembered Toby in the next room so she shut the door softly. She sat on her bed and removed her sodden jeans and shirt. She then grabbed her night shirt and pulled it over her head.

Karen sat still brushing her hair and grumbling to herself "You know sometimes I wish the goblins would come and take Sarah away," She said angrily and thumped the brush down. "Right now."

The thunder rumbled outside and Karen was suddenly overcome with sleepiness, she fell backwards onto the bed and began to snore softly.

Sarah looked down at the smiling cartoon lion face on her shirt and poked it with her finger

"What are you so happy about?" She sighed. "Damn you Karen" She said a little louder as a tear silently fell down her cheek. "It's not fair!" She said louder and buried her head in her pillows.

"You say that so often," a familiar voice said. "I wonder what you basis for comparison is."

Sarah slowly sat up. "Jareth" she whispered her eyes wide with fear.


	2. Chapter 2

He was dressed it tight black pants and knee high boots and a white linen shirt opened enough to expose his chest and golden pendant. He also wore a long, black floor length cape with a high collar. He stood with is legs slightly apart, hands on hips and staring intently at Sarah with his mismatched eyes.

"What are you doing here?" Sarah asked him, trying to sound confident but her voice shaking slightly.

"I have come for you Sarah my dear" He said almost laughing as he walked towards her.

"Go away!" Sarah shouted but then covered her mouth hoping she hadn't woken Toby again. "Leave me alone, I didn't invite you here." She said more quietly.

"You may not have invited me but that doesn't mean someone else hasn't," Jareth said smirking slightly. He held out a gloved hand to Sarah. "Come on then Sarah lets go."

Sarah leapt off her bed and ran to the door grabbing the handle and trying to open it.

"Let me out!" she shouted. "Karen help!"

"Its no use shouting for her Sarah," Jareth said sighing, an annoyed look on his face. "I cast a sleeping spell on her moments after she said certain words. You might recognize them, how do they go again?" Jareth said trying to look thoughtful as he stroked his chin. "Ah yes. I wish the gob..."

"You mean Karen wished me away," Sarah said cutting him off. "I'm sure she didn't mean it!" Sarah said desperately

"Now where have I heard that before," Jareth said trying to suppress a laugh. "People should think before they speak."

Sarah stopped scraping at the door and turned to face the goblin king. "But...but," she stuttered "Karen can get me back, she can solve the labyrinth and get me back."

"No Sarah, I tire of that game." Jareth yawned "And besides you are not a baby so there will be no trips through the labyrinth to win you back." Jareth walked slowly towards Sarah, his hand outs stretched. "Lets go." He said firmly.

But Sarah was too quick for him and she ducked underneath his arms and ran to the other side of the room. She glanced at the open window, the storm was raging outside, if she could just climb out the window, she might be able to get away and....

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Jareth said firmly he had turned round and was standing facing Sarah his hands again on his hips. He began walking towards her, his pace quicker and his steps more determined. He quickly reached out his hand and took her firmly by the wrist.

"Ouch," Sarah cried as she tried to wiggle free of Jareth's vice like grip. "Your hurting me," she whimpered.

Jareth turned to look at her, his mismatched eyes staring deep into her hazel ones. He stared so intently it was as if he was staring right into her soul. She blinked and looked away, Jareth's Grip loosened slightly. He conjured up a crystal with the other hand and whispered some words Sarah did not know. Sarah looked round as her room began to dissolve. She closed her eyes and felt Jareth pull her in close, she gripped onto his shirt tightly and felt the warmth of his body against hers.


	3. Chapter 3

Sarah felt Jareth let go of her and she opened her eyes to find herself standing in the middle of a large stone room, she looked around and recognized it as the throne room. It was much tidier than it had been the last time she was here. Jareth's throne sat at one end with a small pit in front of it, there were torches burning brightly around the room making it very bright. Sarah wondered if magic may be involved because there seemed to be very few torches, and a lot of light. She glanced up at the ceiling to see wonderfully carved stone gargoyles at the corners of each bearing some sort of crest, she squinted to try and make out what it was but her concentration was broken when she heard to sharp claps from her right.

Sarah looked round at Jareth who was standing a few feet away. A few moments later a maid appeared at the door.

"Your majesty," the girl said as she curtsied.

"Go and make up a room for our," Jareth said and then looked round at sarah his lip curled slightly "guest," he continued. "The one on the west wing I think will be appropriate." The girl scurried out of the room and sarah was left alone with Jareth once again. Sarah shivered, she was still just wearing a tee-shirt and the stone floor was making her feet cold. She hugged her arms around herself to try and keep warm.

Jareth glanced round, "nice shirt," he said smirking as he began to walk towards her removing his cloak. "Here," he said thrusting the cloak at her, "before you catch your death."

"No thank you." Sarah said defiantly

"Don't be silly," Jareth said as he wrapped the cloak round the shivering girl. Sarah glared at him but was thankful for the warmth of the heavy cloak and hugged it tight.

Jareth began pacing the room, every so often stealing a small glace at sarah, who stood motionless in the centre of the room. After what seemed like an eternity the maid again appeared at the door.

"Your majesty." She curtsied. "I have made up the guest room, would you like me to take, lady, em..."

"Sarah." Jareth interjected

"Lady sarah," the maid continued, "to her room?"

"No thank you," Jareth told the girl, "I will take her, that will be all Ragna."

Ragna looked quite confused at the answer and glanced over at the girl standing in the middle of the room. The girl looked very strange wearing almost nothing, her dignity covered with his majesty's cape, not at all like a lady, Ragna thought. She wasn't even wearing any shoes.

"Ragna." Jareth said quite loudly. "You may go now." His eyebrows were raised and there was a slight tone of annoyance in his voice. Ragna curtsied down low and hurried out of the room.

"Sarah." Jareth barked making her jump, "Come with me." He continued and began to walk towards the door Ragna had just left through.

Sarah looked horrified at the thought of following Jareth anywhere and stood rooted to the spot unsure of what to do.

Jareth turned round to see sarah standing in exactly the same spot she was a few moments ago, "Well come on then, I would like to go to bed some time before sunrise as I'm sure you would. Unless of course you want to spend the night in here, the goblins don't come in here at night, usually."

Sarah shuddered at the thought of spending the night with some goblins and decided she would take her chances and go with Jareth so she hurried to wards the door where he was standing looking extremely impatient. When Sarah reached him, he opened the door and beckoned sarah to follow him into the dimly light corridor.

They walked in silence down the corridor, the only sound to be heard were Jareth's boots clicking on the stone floor. After several minutes Jareth stopped outside a large oak door, sarah hardly paying attention nearly walked right into him.

Jareth opened the door. "This will be your room." Sarah walked in slowly. "Goodnight." Jareth said and slammed the door shut. Sarah listened to his footsteps disappearing down the hallway.

The room was quite large, with a four poster bed dominating it. There was also a dark wooden dressing table with a mirror and a matching wooden chair. Next to the dressing table there was another table which a white porcalin jug and basin sat. Over the other side of the room was a large wooden wardrobe and a copper bath in front of the stone fireplace which had a fire crackling away happily in it. There was also another door in the room. Sarah walked over curious as to what was behind it. She pushed it open to find a small medieval bathroom, basically just a wooden bench with a hole in it and a window on the other wall. Sarah wrinkled her nose.

"Well I'm not going to stay long enough to use that," she thought closing the door and moving back into the main room. Sarah opened the wardrobe to find it empty and she caught a glance of herself in the mirror. She looked a right state and was still wearing Jareth's heavy cloak. She removed that cloak carefully and placed it over the chair. Then she frowned to herself and dropped the cloak on the floor and wrinkling it up with her foot. She smirked.

"Right," she said out loud. "Tomorrow I'm going to ask Jareth to send me home." She continued as she walked over and climbed into the bed. "No, I'm going to tell him to send me home." She finished and then yawned loudly, within minutes she was asleep.

Jareth peered at her sleeping form in the crystal he held. "Sweet dreams my little Sarah," He whispered and the crystal vanished.


	4. Chapter 4

Sarah awoke early the next morning, she lay in the bed rubbing her eyes and wondering where she was until she remembered the events of last night. She sighed and sat up in the bed.

"So it wasn't just a bad dream," she said quietly.

She looked around the room and slowly climbed out of bed. She swung her feet out and gasped as they touched the cold stone floor so quickly jumped back into bed.

"Stupid floor" she grumbled to herself.

There was then a sharp knock at the door.

"Yeah?" Sarah enquired hoping whoever it was hadn't heard her talking to herself. She bit her lip as the person entered the room and was slightly disappointed to see it was Ragna carrying a tray, and not Jareth.

"I'm sorry miss," she said softly. "I hope I didn't wake you."

Ragna went over and opened the curtains and light flooded into the room. Sarah got a better look at the girl than she had last night. She looked maybe a few years older than her, was slightly shorter than Sarah and had pale creamy colored skin. Her hair was a light brown color and was tied up in a small, neat bun at the bottom of her head. She was wearing a floor length, dark green, woven dress with the sleeves rolled up and on top of that a white apron.

"No its okay, I was already awake." Sarah told her.

Ragna hurried over to Sarah and placed the tray on the bed, it had a selection of fruit, bread and cakes on it and they all looked quite delicious.

"I thought you might be hungry," Ragna said smiling. "I didn't know what you liked so I brought you a selection of things."

"Thanks," Sarah said taking a large bite out of an apple. "Do you want any?"

"No thank you Miss." Ragna said quickly looking almost frightened at the idea of it. "Will there be anything else?"

"Yeah." Sarah mumbled, pausing to swallow the apple. "Can I speak to Jareth?"

"His majesty is not to be disturbed at the moment but he will see at lunch." Ragna said quickly

"Not to be disturbed at the moment, how convenient." Sarah said bitterly

"Will there be anything else miss?" Ragna said looking slightly scared.

"Umm...." Sarah replied. "Do you think you could find something for me to wear?"

"Yes of course Miss I'll see what I can do," Ragna said looking slightly more relaxed and with that she hurried out of the room.

ooo

Ragna was surprised when the king had told her to make up the guest room on the west wing and was even more surprised at the Lady Sarah turning up at that time of night and wearing what she was. This information had been spread quickly around the castle and the other servants were gossiping about it when Ragna arrived back to try and find something for Sarah to wear.

"The west wing, only his majesties close friends and family ever stay there because it's so close to his own chambers." She heard one maid say.

"Maybe is so it's easy for him to pay her little night time visits, if you know what I mean." Said one of the half goblin butlers nudging another one and the whole room burst out laughing, even Ragna couldn't help but smile a little.

"Quiet the lot of ya," Carmera the house mistress barked slapping the butler on the back of the head.

She was an old lady, quite short and looked like she may have some part goblin to her. She had run the castle for as long as anyone could remember. She was sometimes quite harsh but was usually fair and she kept the household running like clockwork most of the time.

She spotted Ragna entering the kitchen. "Did you give that young girl her breakfast Ragna?" She enquired

"Yes house mistress, she needs some clothes so I'm just looking for some now," Ragna replied.

"Go look in the laundry room Ragna." Carmera replied and Ragna hurried off. "Dear me, arriving at the castle at some ungodly hour of the night and not even bringing any clothes!" Carmera said as she shook her head. "Chop chop," she shouted over the noise in the room. "No time for idle chit chat, there is lots of work to do." And with that everyone quickly left to get on with there duties.

ooo

Sarah had eaten her fill of the food provided and had managed to brave the medieval toilet. She was sitting on the edge of the bed swinging her legs and waiting for Ragna to return with some clothes. After a short while she heard a timid knock at the door.

"Come in." Sarah called.

Ragna entered the room with a dark blue dress over her arms. "I found you this dress miss." She said as she closed the door. "I think it's about your size."

Ragna hurried over and placed the dress on the bed next to Sarah.

"Would you like me to help you dress?" Ragna enquired

"No thanks," Sarah said quickly. "I think I can dress myself."

"Okay," Ragna said looking slightly hurt. "Will there be anything else?"

"Yes I would really like to talk to Jareth." Sarah said firmly.

Ragna fidgeted a bit and said rather quietly "His majesty is busy, he will see you......"

"Yes yes he'll see me at lunch," Sarah interrupted, sighing. "I suppose I'll just wait here until lunch time, thanks for the dress."

Ragna left the room without another word leaving Sarah to get dressed.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Sarah took off her tee-shirt and pulled the dress on, it fitted quite well, maybe slightly too big but Sarah didn't plan to wear it for too long. Also the material was a bit scratchy and it made Sarah itch.

She shrugged trying to ignore the scratchiness and rolled the sleeves of the dress up as Ragna had done. She then pulled on the shoes that had also been provided for her.

She then climbed off the bed and walked over to the large window to see what was outside.

"Wow," Sarah gasped as she opened the window and took in the view before her. Immediately outside the castle was the most beautiful garden she had ever seen. Beyond that was the goblin city and beyond that was the labyrinth she had solved not so long ago. In the far distance Sarah could see beautiful snow topped mountains and she was certain she could see several castles as well. Sarah gazed out of the window drinking in the magnificence of her surroundings momentarily forgetting where she was.

An icy cold gust of wind brought her back to her senses, Sarah rubbed her bare arms and closed the window.

"I wonder how long I've been standing there." She thought to herself.

She walked back over to the bed and pulled the covers up and smoothed them out, trying to make it look as it had last night, she then folded up her tee-shirt and placed it on the bed. She sighed and sat down at the dressing table looking up at the clock as she did, it was only 8.30.

"Well I'm not sitting around here for another four hours." She said angrily to herself as she stood up and headed to the door. "I'm coming to find you Jareth!" she shouted.

ooo

Jareth smiled as he looked into his crystal. "Still the same feisty girl I remember," he whispered. The crystal vanished and Jareth sat back down at his desk to continue his work.

ooo

Sarah closed the door behind her and started to wander back down the hall the way she had come last night, it looked quite different in the daylight and she hoped she wouldn't get lost.

After walking for about five minutes she came to a set of large wooden doors. The handles were huge and looked like they were made of silver, as she got closer she could see they also had what looked like gold entwined round them like a snake. She could also see that the door was slightly ajar and there was a loud racket coming from inside.

Sarah tiptoed up to the door and peeked in to see what all the noise was about. Inside the throne room were several large goblins chatting and arguing with each other. They were all wearing some kind of armor and there were discarded helmets dotted around the room. Some of the arguments were getting quite heated and she had to quickly pull her head away from the door when a wooden goblet came soaring towards her. She thought it might have been aimed at her but when she braved another look she found that two of the goblins were fighting with each other and a couple of other goblins were throwing goblets at them, well at least trying to, their aim was so bad they ended up all over the room.

There was a loud noise from the other side of the room, the sound of a door being slammed shut. Sarah couldn't see who had entered the room but she had a good idea who it was because all the goblins suddenly stopped what they were doing and turned to face the throne.

Jareth came into Sarah's view and sat himself down on the throne. He was wearing tight grey trousers and black knee high boots. He was also wearing his usual loosely fitting white shirt and on top of that a dark green waistcoat and matching gloves.

"Captain." He barked. "Your morning report if you please."

The largest goblin walked towards the throne. "Your majesty." He said as he bowed down. "There is erm..." he hesitated for a second. "Nothing to report for this morning's, erm report." He continued. The goblin backed away from the throne

"Thank you Bwarg, that will be all. Return your men to their posts." Jareth said sighing and flicking his hand in the direction of the door.

Sarah watched as the Goblins bowed, picked up their helmets and headed towards the door. Sarah stepped back quickly and desperately looked for somewhere to hide. She spotted a large statue and dived behind it just as the goblins came charging out of the throne room and headed the opposite way down the hall.

Sarah waited until they were well out of site and walked slowly over to the open door. She looked in and saw Jareth sitting in his throne with his legs hanging over one arm of it. He was reading a large book and muttering to himself. Sarah took a deep breath and walked into the room, her head held high.

Jareth looked up from his book to see Sarah walking towards him, he closed the book and placed it on the floor.

"Good morning my dear Sarah," he said smiling. "I hope you slept well." He continued.

"Yes fine thanks." Sarah answered quickly.

"What a charming dress you have on." Jareth said his eyebrow raised and a slight smirk on his face.

Sarah felt a slight blush creeping up her face as she fingered one of the holes in the dress nervously.

"Well Sarah I would love to stay and chat but I'm afraid I have certain duties to perform, but I will see at lunch." He said sighing and waving his hand towards the door as he had done earlier with the goblins.

Sarah bit her lip and plucked up the courage to speak again. "Jareth I want you to send me home." She said bluntly.

Jareth spun round on his throne so his feet were on the ground. "Sarah," he said almost growling. "Your stepmother wished you away to the goblins, therefore you now belong to me." He continued staring unblinkingly at Sarah.

"I already told you." Sarah said louder. "Karen didn't mean to wish me away, it...it was a mistake!" She continued almost shouting.

Jareth got off the throne and walked quickly over to her, his heels clicking on the stone floor. He was inches away from her and she could feel his breath on her cheek. He was far too close, Sarah wanted to move away but she was rooted to the spot.

"How do you know it was a mistake?" Jareth said almost whispering. He bent down closer and spoke softly into her ear. "Nobody wants you in your world Sarah. Not your mother, not your father, not your stepmother, nobody."

Sarah could feel the tears welling up in her eyes and without thinking she raised up her hand to slap him.

"Don't." He said dangerously taking a tight grip on her wrist. He let go of it, turned and slowly started walking back towards his throne.

Sarah stood rubbing her wrist with her other hand.

"I am your ruler and your king and I demand a little more respect." Jareth said loudly, his back still turned to Sarah. "Or I won't hesitate to punish you." He finished and turned to sit back on the throne. "As I said before I will speak more with you at lunch. Go back to your room please."

Sarah looked up at him as a tear fell from each eye. "I hate you!" She shouted and ran out of the room.

Jareth sighed. He was angry with her. He had offered her everything not so long ago and she had thrown it back in his face. He knew he shouldn't but did he still have feelings for her? He ran his gloved hands through his main of golden hair. No no of course he didn't that was ridiculous. He looked over to the far corner of the room.

"Was I too hard on her Davron?" He said, his voice softer than before

Out of the corner emerged a tall, dark haired man. He was wearing black trousers and boots, a white shirt with a dark red waistcoat over it. On top of that a black jacket with silver details round the cuffs.

"She needs to adjust your majesty, she needs time." He said sympathetically.

Jareth rubbed his forehead and took a deep breath. "Right fine." He said. "How many need my council today?"

Davron pulled a parchment out of thin air and began to read it. "We have twenty-three today your majesty." Davron read.

"Okay show the first one in then." Jareth said as he sat up on his throne.

Davron hurried out of the throne room to do as the king had asked.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Sarah ran all the way back to her room, tears streaming down her face. She flung the door open, threw herself onto the bed and began sobbing uncontrollably.

Truth rang through her ears, though she didn't want to believe it. Surely she would be missed at the moment, surely there would be people out looking for her, people who cared. Maybe her father would realize he didn't want her to move out after all and he would hug her and tell her everything would be ok and she could live with him for as long as she wanted.

Sarah stood up from the bed and walked over to the window. It had started to snow outside, she gazed outside for a while as she formulated a plan in her mind.

If Jareth wasn't going to send her home she would have to find someone who would. She glanced at the castles out the window, they looked so far away. But then she remembered that in this place that nothing is what it seems. She giggled to herself as she though the castles would probably only reach up to her waist and would be full of tiny little people.

She walked back over to the bed and pulled the sheet off it. She then wrapped up the remainder of her breakfast in her tee-shirt and wrapped that up in the sheet, tying it so there were handles for her to carry it with.

She looked out of the window again, the snow was getting heavier.

"Maybe I should wait," a little voice in her head suggested.

"No!" She said out loud. "I'm going to leave now while Jareth is busy."

The snow was really heavy now so Sarah looked around the room for something she could wear on top of her dress. She crouched down to look under the bed and discovered a large leather suitcase. She pulled the suitcase out from under the bed, examining it carefully, it looked very old, maybe hundreds of years. Sarah then opened it up to see what was inside.

It looked like a large woven cloak, Sarah pulled it out. It was dark blue in color and was very big. It smelled a bit musty but at least it would keep her warm. She flung the cloak round her shoulders, picked up the makeshift bag and headed towards the door.

Sarah opened the door slowly and peeked out to make sure the cost was clear. There was no body about so she decided now would be as good a time as ever to make her escape.

Sarah headed towards the throne room quietly. As she got closer she could hear lots of chatter, she pulled the hood up so it put her face in shadow and carried on walking. She then turned round a corner and was greeted by the sight of a long line of, creatures she thought for lack of a better word. There were goblins, dwarfs and what looked like humans. They were all talking away oblivious to Sarah walking closer to them. Some of them had animals with them and there was one small goblin running after a chicken desperately trying to catch it.

As she got closer she could see they were all queue up outside the throne room. She bit her lip as she looked towards the door, she wasn't entirely certain of the way out of this place. Then she spotted some rather windswept and snow covered goblins who had just climbed the staircase opposite the throne room.

Sarah hurried over towards the stairs and headed down them. She didn't meet anyone else until she was well outside the castle in into the goblin city. A group of goblins walked past her and didn't even give her a second glance. Sarah assumed they thought her just to be a servant in the castle so she hurried on pulling the cloak tight around herself to try and keep out the wind.

She reached the gates quickly and pushed them open quite easily and was momentarily startled by the guards on the other side until she realized they were fast asleep. Sarah snorted thinking how easy it would be to invade this place and with that she hurried into the forest.

ooo

"My chicken is sick your majesty," the little goblin said trying to control the flapping bird.

"It looks ok to me." Jareth said, his eyebrows raised.

"No no," the goblin replied. "She has stopped laying eggs sire."

"I see," Jareth said. "Try feeding her apicoli leaves, if that doesn't work it may be she is too old and the best thing to do would be to roast her up for supper."

The little goblin looked slightly alarmed. "Thank you sire," he said bowing so low he almost dropped the chicken. With that he hurried out of the room.

"Would you like me to fetch the next one?" Davron asked heading towards the door.

"Hold on just a second Davron." Jareth said as he clapped his hands twice.

A couple of seconds later Ragna appeared at the door and curtsied to the king. "Yes your majesty?" She enquired

"Ragna, will you please ask the seamstress to make some dresses for Sarah. We can't have her running around in that rag for the rest of her stay." The King told her.

Ragna blushed slightly, the dress was almost identical to hers.

"Tell her she can use what ever material she wishes. Oh," Jareth hesitated. "Do not disturb Sarah until lunch, she needs a little time to herself now. That will be all." He continued.

Ragna curtsied and left the room.

"Okay Davron, show the next one in." Jareth sighed looking bored.

"Yes sire." Davron said smiling slightly.

ooo

Sarah pushed her way through the trees hoping she wouldn't be meeting those terrible firey creatures, she shuddered as she thought of them wanting to remove her head.

"At least these trees are shielding me from the snow." She thought trying to look on the bright side as she pushed on deeper into the forest.

The canopy was thick above her head and it was making it dark, she thought of the forest back home she was so scared off and decided it a breeze compared to this.

Off to her left Sarah heard a rustle of leaves.

"Who's there?" she said cautiously.

When no one answered she briefly thought about heading back to the castle. She bit her lip and thought of Jareth's reaction if she returned after a failed escape.

"Well, come on feet," she said out loud trying to give herself a moral boost.

ooo

"Finally!" Jareth sighed as the last goblin left the throne room. He glanced up at the large clock on the wall, it was nearly 12.30.

"Would you like me to go down to the kitchens to have some lunch sent up?" Davron asked.

"Thank you that would be most kind. I shall ask Ragna to fetch Sarah so she may join me for lunch. Will you have the kitchen staff send it up to the dinning hall for us?" Jareth enquired.

"Very well," Davron said, smirking slightly.

"What are you smiling at?" Jareth asked, a slight playful tone in his voice.

"Oh nothing." Davron said quickly as he hurried out of the room.

Jareth sat for a moment twiddling his gloved fingers as he composed his thoughts. He stared at the wall blankly and found himself thinking about Sarah. He shook his head and clapped his hands twice together.

Ragna quickly appeared at the doorway and curtsied down low.

"Ragna will you please go and get Sarah and escort her to the dinning hall for lunch." Jareth said quickly.

"Of course your majesty." Ragna replied, curtsied again and hurried out of the room.

ooo

Sarah didn't know how long she'd been walking for but her feet were freezing cold. The tree cover wasn't as thick as before so she had to walk through deeper snow and the wind was blowing more snow into her face.

She stopped briefly and pulled the cloak tight around her. She was now wishing she was back in the castle even if it was a bit dingy and she had to be there with him. It was decidedly better then being lost in a mysterious forest with frostbite on your toes.

Sarah looked round slowly, the whole forest looked the same, all white and covered in snow. She decided it was unlikely she would find her way back and there was no point standing still so she could freeze to death. So she battled on.

ooo

Jareth wondered slowly towards the dinning hall, pausing at a large window to look out. He shivered and was glad he was inside the castle instead of outside in what was quickly becoming a blizzard.

He pushed the large wooden doors of the dinning hall and wandered up to the table. He sat in his usual chair at the head of the table and glanced to his left at the place that had been set for Sarah. He wished she would hurry up as he was starving.

There was a timid knock at the door.

"Come in." Jareth bellowed.

Ragna slinked into huge dinning room looking absolutely terrified.

"Yes?" Jareth enquired suspiciously when he realized Sarah was not with her.

"Lady Sarah," she said quietly her voice shaking.

"What of her?" Jareth asked trying to keep a polite tone in his voice.

"I well, I went to her room and she was not there." Ragna said quickly

"What!" Jareth shouted standing up from his chair. "Where is she?"

"I....I don't know." Ragna squeaked.

Jareth held out one of his gloved hands and conjured up a crystal. "Sarah," he whispered into the ball. His eyes widened when Sarah's image appeared before him.

"Davron!" He shouted. "Davron get in here!"

Davron quickly appeared at the door, when he saw the look on Jareth's face he rushed over to his side.

"It's Sarah." Jareth said breathlessly.

"What about her?" Davron asked his face full of concern.

"She has run off." Jareth said bluntly. "Ragna went to get her for lunch and she wasn't there. I looked for her in my crystal, I saw her, she was lying in a snow drift in what looked like the firey forest. I must go look for her."

"But your highness, the snow storm." Davron said desperately.

"I can't leave her. Try and get a search party together, if the snow gets too bad call the search off." Jareth said quickly as he pointed one hand at the large window. The window flew open and he walked towards it.

Davron rushed to his side and placed his hand on Jareth's shoulder. "Be careful Jareth." He said softly.

Jareth looked at him. "I'll try." He said.

Davron backed away and watched the king transform into a beautiful snowy owl and fly gracefully out the window.

Davron turned towards Ragna who was standing staring open mouthed at the window. "Well you heard what he said." Davron said loudly startling the poor girl. "Get on with it!"

Ragna hurried out of the room and Davron turned back to the window just in time to see the king disappear into the distance.


	7. Chapter 7

This chapter might be confusing, I'm not sure, tell me what you think xxx

**Chapter 7**

"_Wake up Sarah." A familiar voice said._

_Sarah slowly opened her eyes, she was sitting in the kitchen of her house. _

"_I think it's an early bed for you tonight sweetie," her father said as he ruffled her hair._

"_Dad?" She said sounding confused. "What are you doing here?"_

"_What do you mean honey?" He said looking slightly concerned._

_Sarah looked around the room and saw Toby sitting opposite her playing with his knife and fork. Over at the oven Karen was standing stirring a pot._

"_Oh nothing," Sarah said still looking round the room trying to get her bearings._

_Karen brought over plates and placed them on the table and headed back to the oven._

"_Mmmm that smells great sweetheart," Robert said as he raised his nose in the air like a hunting dog might do to catch a scent._

"_Dad," Sarah said quickly turning to face her father. "Please don't make me move out!" She said desperately._

"_What do you mean honey?" Robert said as he gently squeezed his daughter's arm. "We're not making you move out." He said smiling_

"_Really?" Sarah said a smile breaking across her face._

"_Of course silly billy." Robert replied as he stroked Sarah's arm._

_Sarah smiled again and looked up at the large clock on the kitchen wall, then back to her father a frown forming on her face._

"_Dad?" She enquired._

"_Yes?" Came his reply_

"_Why are you wearing a suit? Why are you not at work? I thought your shift at the burger bar was until 7 o'clock?" Sarah asked quickly._

"_What do you mean Sarah?" Robert asked looking confused. "What burger bar? I always wear a suit to the office and I'm always back before six. Are you feeling okay sweetie?" He continued as he placed his hand on Sarah's forehead._

"_I feel cold," Sarah said as she rubbed her arms. "Is there a window open? I feel a breeze."_

"_What Sarah, I don't feel any breeze." Her father replied his voice becoming more faint._

"_What?" Sarah shouted desperately. "Dad I can't here you!"_

_The room was getting darker and Sarah was losing sight of her family._

"_Daddy where are you!" Sarah shouted, her arms flailing around trying to catch hold of him._

_And then they were gone and the world was black once more._

ooo

Sarah awoke slowly rubbing her eyes, she looked around to find herself lying in a snow drift, in a clearing in the forest. Her legs shook as she tried to stand up so she decided to stay seated.

Her dress and cloak were ripped, one of her shoes was missing and she had a large gash on her left cheek. She touched it, her hands were like ice, she rubbed them together trying to warm them up.

Looking around she found no civilization in sight, she decided that if she just sat here she would turn into a Sarah ice cube. So, using all her strength, she heaved herself up onto her feet and began to slowly walk forward.

ooo

Jareth soared high above the trees using his keen eyesight to try and find Sarah.

"I'll find her." He thought desperately to himself as the snow was blown into his face. "I've got to."

ooo

Sarah was tiring quickly, the bundle of food she had cleverly thought to bring with her was lost long ago. Her legs were weak and she was finding it difficult to keep her balance.

A large black bird flew across her path startling her, she lost her footing and collapsed to the ground. She sat there for a moment sobbing, but her eyes were so dry that no tears came.

"I'm useless," she thought miserably. "I can't do anything right, I can't even cry properly!" With that she collapsed onto the ground.

She heard a noise ahead and her heart skipped a beat. She saw a dark figure emerge from the trees

"Jareth?" she whispered as the figure approached.

The man lowered his hood as he approached Sarah, she realized it was not Jareth. The man had long black hair tied back in a pony tail. He was wearing a dark green cloak wrapped around him, all else she could see were black boots protruding from the bottom of the cloak.

The man crouched down at Sarah's side and pulled back her hood, his face turned from that of concern to that of surprise when he saw her.

"Elmarda?" He questioned. "It can't be you." He stroked Sarah's hair back from her face and lifted her head up. "What is your name child?" he demanded.

Sarah tried to open her mouth to speak, but before she could there was a fluttering sound and heard footsteps in the snow approach her.

"That is no concern of yours Sebastian." A booming voice said.

"And I suppose it is your concern then Goblin King." Sebastian spat.

"That it is." Jareth said as he approached Sarah.

"Well she is on my land so I believe her to be my concern." Sebastian said as he motioned to pick Sarah up.

"That is where you are wrong Sebastian, she is my subject therefore she is my concern." Jareth replied as he scooped Sarah up into his arms.

Sebastian grabbed Jareth's arm. "Why are you so concerned with this peasant girl?" He asked.

"I would ask you the same thing Sebastian." Jareth said suspiciously as he shook free from his grip. Sebastian backed away slowly as Jareth produced a crystal in one gloved hand.

Sarah stayed awake long enough to see the snow covered forest dissolve around her, then she passed out in Jareth's arms.

ooo

Jareth and Sarah reappeared in the thrown room to the great surprise of Davron and a group of goblin he was trying to organize into a search party.

"Your majesty!" Davron shouted a wave of relief appearing on his pale face. That relief quickly turned to concern as he spotted Sarah's limp body. He walked up to the king. "Is she..." he started.

"No, but she is sick." Jareth interrupted. "Will you organize a bath to be drawn in my chambers.

"Of course your highness." Davron said bowing down low. He clapped his hands sharply together, moments later a maid appeared at the door.

"Dolina will you go run a bath in his majesty's chambers." He said quickly.

Dolina stared openly at the king for a second. His hair was full of wigs and leaves and his hair was more wild than ever. After a second or two of wondering what had happened she hurried out of the room.

"Would you like me to help you sire?" Davron asked as he approached the king.

"Go and fetch Karl." Jareth said as he walked towards the door. "I don't know how badly injured she is, she may need a healer."

Davron hurried out of the door ahead of the king to the South wing to fetch the Elvin healer.

ooo

Jareth walked quickly to his chambers carrying Sarah in his arms. He pushed the large door open and walked into the room. Dolina was just finishing off filling the large copper bath sitting in front of a huge marble fireplace.

"Leave us." Jareth shouted as he carefully laid Sarah on the huge four poster bed.

Dolina hurried out of the room sensing the King was somewhat stressed.

Jareth carefully removed the heavy cloak still wrapped round Sarah. He then crouched down by the bed and gently brushed Sarah's hair from her face. "Sarah," he whispered.

The large gash on Sarah's cheek was bleeding slightly. Jareth removed his gloves and placed one of his fingers on the cut. He started whispering a spell in an ancient language as he ran his finger along the length of the cut.

Sarah awoke feeling a warmth on her cheek. She looked round to see the Goblin King kneeling beside her, his eyes were closed, he was muttering quietly and his hand was on her face.

"Jareth?" Sarah croaked.

Jareth opened his opened his eyes and smiled at Sarah. "Are you okay?" He asked, his eyes full of concern.

"I think so." Sarah replied, shivering her voice hoarse. Then she started coughing.

There was a sharp knock at the door, Jareth stood up.

"Enter." He said.

Sarah watched as a very tall, slim man walked into the room. He had long golden hair tied back with a deep red colored ribbon. He was wearing a black shirt with long baggy sleeves rolled up. On top of that he had on a deep red waistcoat which matched the ribbon, it was loose and unbuttoned. He was also wearing black breeches and boots. Sarah also noticed his ears were slightly pointed. He hurried over to her in the bed as soon as the door opened and placed a hand on firmly across her chest.

"Take some deep breaths please." Karl told Sarah.

Sarah did as she was told and took two deep breaths. Doing so made her cough again.

Karl lifted his hand from her chest and placed it on her forehead.

He turned round to face Jareth. "She does not have a fever but I think she may have a slight chest infection." Karl told him. "I will make up some medicine for her, she will be fine." Karl smiled.

"Thank you Karl." Jareth said as he patted him on the shoulder.

Sarah watched as Karl left the room. When he was gone Jareth came back to her side. "You here that Sarah," he said, "Your going to be fine."

He walked down to the foot of the bed and removed Sarah's one remaining shoe and then helped her sit up in the bed, he backed away slightly when he noticed her shivering.

"You are cold," he said. "Would you like me to help you bathe?"

Sarah looked at him suspiciously. "No, I can do it myself." She said coughing. Sarah got out of the bed and tried to walk over to the bath tub but her legs were still weak and she would have fallen if Jareth hadn't grabbed her round the waist.

"I don't think you can love." Jareth said smirking as he guided her over to the bath. He helped her remove the woven dress and then dumped it on the floor. "I think we can find you some better clothes than this."

Sarah was sitting on the edge of the bath with wearing just a short silk underdress, she looked up at Jareth blushing slightly so bent her head down and started fidgeting with the hem of it.

Jareth sighed and turned so his back was towards her. He crossed his arms, "Don't worry, I won't peak." He said.

Even though she couldn't see his face, Sarah was certain he would be smirking. She carefully removed the silken garment and climbed slowly into the bath, the warm water felt wonderful against her bare skin, the water looked slightly cloudy and smelled gorgeous, she wondered what bath oils were used. Sarah was totally exhausted, she just wanted to sleep, her eyes were so heavy so she closed them and leaned back in the tub. She felt like she could sleep forever, but her thoughts were disturbed when she felt something rubbing her neck.

She opened her eyes to find Jareth kneeling by the tub, his sleeves rolled up and gently washing her neck and shoulders with a cloth. Their eyes met briefly and it was Sarah who looked away, she could feel herself blushing again.

She stared blankly at the fireplace, why did he always make her feel like this, what was it about him, she thought to herself desperately. Maybe he wasn't the evil, baby kidnapping villain she had once thought him to be after all he had only done what she had asked.

_You asked that the child be taken, I took him._

She remembered the look of sorrow on his face when she had rejected him.

_But what no one new was that the King of the goblins had fallen in love with the girl._

Had he really been in love with her?

Her concentration was broken when a jug of water was poured over her head and she felt strong hands rub soap into her hair.

"What are you doing?" She demanded, well at least tried to sound demanding her voice was still merely a whisper.

"I am washing your hair." Jareth said matter-of-factly. "Since you don't seem to be making much effort, the water won't stay warm for ever you know."

"Well I thought an all powerful magician like you could do some kind of spell to keep the water warm." Sarah replied sarcastically in a croaky voice.

"We don't use magic to solve all our problems little Sarah." Jareth said as he poured more water over Sarah's head and rubbed the soap out.

Sarah frowned as Jareth stood up and dried his hands on his shirt. He walked over to a large deep blue colored squashy chair next to the fireplace, he picked up the white towel draped over one of the arms and brought it over to the bath. He unfolded the towel and held it in front of the bath.

"Out you get then," he ordered.

Sarah reluctantly stood up in the bath and let Jareth wrap the towel round her. He then picked her up carefully.

"What are you doing?" Sarah asked as she was carried over to the bed.

"What does it look like?" Jareth said as he placed her on the bed.

He then walked over to one of the large oak wardrobes in the room, opened the doors and pulled out a bath robe. He brought it back over to the bed where Sarah was sitting and placed it next to her.

The robe was deep red and it had some golden detail round the collar, she touched it gently.

"You may borrow this," Jareth said as he headed towards the door. "I think you should get some rest."

"I'm fine." Sarah said.

Jareth stopped. "Your very lucky," he said quickly. "You could have died, if hadn't found you when I did, who knows what might have happened."

"There wasn't just you and me in the woods, I remember someone else there too." Sarah said quietly trying to think what the person looked like.

"That was Prince Sebastian." Jareth told her as he closed the heavy drapes over one of the large windows.

"Sebastian." Sarah repeated

"Yes," Jareth replied. "Prince Sebastian, heir to the throne of Haramyre, the kingdom which borders my own. Nasty piece of work, just like his father, King Tharman." Jareth continued as he closed the drapes over the second window in the room. He turned round and looked at Sarah. "He seemed quite interested in you Sarah." Jareth said looking slightly jealous.

"No I don't think so," Sarah replied rubbing her arms. "He thought I was someone else, Elmarda I think he said."

"Elmarda," Jareth muttered. He stopped waht he was doing and thought for a second

"You better get into bed." Jareth said noticing Sarah was shivering. "You may sleep here." He continued as he walked over to the door.

Sarah watched as Jareth opened the door and slammed it behind him.

ooo

Jareth walked quickly back to his study quickly, angry with himself. Was he falling for her again, falling in love with her again. Or did he ever fall out of love with her in first place? He shook his head.

"The girl means nothing to me." He said out loud. He thought about the words he had just spoken, was that truely what he felt in his heart? Did Sarah mean nothing to him? No. Also, Elmarda, now why did that name seem familure some how.

He hadn't noticed that he had reached his study door, he quickly pushed it open and walked in.

Davron was busy setting a fire in the room, he was the only one Jareth allowed in his private study without his presence.

He turned round as the king entered. "How is she?" Davron asked.

"She'll live." Jareth said simply. He sat down at his desk.

Davron approached him. "Something troubles you Jareth." He said, his eyes full of concern.

Jareth smiled. "Many things trouble me Davron, but one thing in particular plagues my thoughts. A name that Sarah mentioned, Elmarda.

"Elmarda." Davron repeated.

"Yes." Jareth continued. "I met Sebastian when I was in the forest, he was talking to Sarah, she claims he thought her name was Elmarda. I recognize that name but I don't know from where." He finished rubbing his temple.

"Yes yes, that name does seem some what familure to me." Davron said as he headed to the door. "Would you like me to bring you anything?"

"Yes Davron will you have some lunch set up? I'm afraid I missed it first time round." Jareth said smiling.

ooo

Sebastian stormed into the large throne room, nearly hiting a maid with the door as he threw it open. He pulled his cloak off and threw it at the maid.

"Get out." He yelled at her.

The maid nearly tripped over her feet trying to get out of the room.

Sebastian walked to the far end of the room where a man was sitting on a black wooden thrown reading a large piece of parchment.

He peered over the top of it, "Ah Sebastian." The man said. "What has upset you this time?"

"It is not what father," Sebastian said as he sat in one of the chairs next to King Tharman, "it is who." He continued.

Tharman removed his glasses and placed the parchment on the floor next to him. "Well who then?" He asked.

"Jareth." Sebastian spat.

"Ah, our friendly neighbor the Goblin King." Tharman said, his lip curling slightly. "What has he done this time?"

"I was out in the forest and there was a girl." Sebastian said and he got up and began pacing the room. "I think I startled her when I flew past.

"What of this girl?" Tharman asked watching his son pace the room.

Sebastian stopped and looked at his father. "I thought she was Elmarda." He said "But I knew it couldn't be, I knew it wasn't possible. But she looked so like her." Sebastian began pacing the room again.

"Elmarda," Tharman repeated. "I suppose it is possible she survived."

"No!" Sebastian shouted. "It is not possible."

"How can you be so sure?" Tharman asked his eyebrows raised.

Sebastian stopped pacing again. "Because I saw her killed, I was there when she died."

"She had a daughter, did she not, maybe it was her you saw." Tharman said. "Or did you witness her death too?"

"No, no." Sebastian said. "We couldn't find her, but we burned the castle to the ground, no one escaped."

"Well why worry then." Tharman said smiling.

ooo

_The king and queen crouched together, there arms round each other._

"_Where is your daughter?" Sebastian shouted his sword at the throat of the queen._

"_We'll never tell you!" Queen Elmarda shouted back._

"_I will ask you once more and once more only." Sebastian said pressing the sword harder at Elmarda's throat. "Where is your daughter, where is Sophia?"_

_Elmarda smiled. "You'll never find her." She said quietly._

_Sebastian pulled his sword away and placed it back in the sheath. He looked at the two soldiers standing behind him. "Kill them." He said and watched as the two men walked towards the king and queen unsheathing their swords, they hesitated for a moment._

"_Well what are you waiting for?" Sebastian shouted. "Get on with it!"_

_The prince watched as the two soldiers killed the cowering king and queen._

"_We've got to find Sophia." Sebastian shouted. "You two come with me to the north wing." He shouted at the soldiers standing over the bodies of the king and queen. "You others, search the rest of the castle."_

_Sebastian headed toward the door leading to the north wing, followed close behind by the two soldiers. He pushed open and quickly climbed the stairs. There was a noise ahead of them, Sebastian gripped his sword handle tightly. _

_The three men walked round the next corner and came face to face with an old long bearded man muttering to himself and walking the other way along hall towards them._

_Sebastian pulled his sword out. "Old man!" He shouted. "Do you know where princess Sophia is?"_

_The old man started laughing quietly._

_Sebastian grabbed his collar and pulled him close. "Where is she?" He growled at the old man._

_The old man looked up. "I've hidden her." He said almost whispering. "You'll never find her." He said louder and then began laughing again._

_Sebastian put his face close to the old man's so their noses were almost touching. "Where is she?" He said slowly._

_The old man just laughed harder. "In a secret place." He said. The he abruptly stopped laughing and vanished, Sebastian was left just gripping air._

"_Bloody wizards" Sebastian said."Come with me." He then shouted to the two soldiers and headed back the way they had just come. They marched back into the throne room. "Get all of the men out of the castle." He said. "Then burn it to the ground. Put a guard at each entrance, make sure no one escapes." He finished and then walked quickly out of the room and out the main entrance._

oo

Tharman noticed his son was still troubled. "Well if you're so concerned, why don't you go get this child and find out who she is." he said.

"Yes father, that sounds like a good plan." Sebastian said looking a lot calmer. "And if I'm wrong, I'm sure I can think of other things to do with her." He continued, smirking.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Jareth sat at his desk picking various twigs and leaves out of his tangled mane of golden hair, his empty plates lay to the side. His hunger had returned quickly after he knew Sarah was safe. There was a sharp knock at the door.

"Enter." Jareth said loudly.

The door opened and Karl walked confidently into the room. He was now wearing a white apron on top of his clothes, well Jareth presumed it once was white because it was certainly far from it now. He was also carrying a large silver goblet, he placed it on the desk in front of Jareth.

"Here is the medicine I have made for the young lady." He said politely. "I recommend she gets her first dose now and then twice a day until her cough is settled. I have mixed in some sleeping draught to help her get back to sleep. Would you like me give her the dose now?" Karl enquired.

"No." Jareth said and cursed himself for saying it too quickly. "I mean no thank you Karl, I will see that she gets it quickly."

Karl bowed. "As you wish." He said as he turned slowly and exited the room.

Jareth picked up the plates in one hand and the goblet in the other. It was full of some kind of thick greenish liquid that was bubbling slightly. He took a quick sniff and decided it smelt of grass mixed with cloves and was glad he wasn't going to be drinking it.

He opened the door carefully, trying not to drop anything and placed the plates on the floor of the hallway next to the wall so someone could collect them, he rarely ate in his study so he didn't mind cleaning up once in a while. He closed the door behind him and headed off to his chambers.

Jareth walked quickly down the corridors, but he was also careful not to spill the medicine in the goblet. He eventually reached the door to his chambers and lifted his hand to knock.

He stood there for a second, his hand raised, and then decided it was his room so why should he knock. So he then pushed the door open slowly and entered the darkened room.

He stopped just inside the door, "Sarah." He whispered. When she didn't respond he walked slowly over to the bed.

The towel she had used was hung neatly over the end of the bed and Sarah was lying asleep with the covers only up to her waist. As Jareth got closer he realized that the robe she was wearing had fallen open and was revealing one of her breasts.

Jareth longed to touch that perfect creamy colored skin and he subconsciously moved his free hand towards her. When he realized what he was doing he stopped and placed the goblet on the bedside table. He then grasped the covers and pulled them up over the rest of Sarah's body.

Sarah stirred in her sleep and Jareth stood motionless by her bed watching her, she looked so peaceful and he felt bad that he was about to interrupt her sleep to make her drink the strange concoction Karl had made.

Jareth kneeled down by the bed and stroked Sarah's hair away from her face.

"Sarah." He said quietly and watched as she stirred again and gave a soft sigh. Her lips looked so inviting, he longed to kiss her, to feel her lips against his.

He stroked her face gently and said her name again a bit louder. That did the trick and he watched as her eyes opened slowly, she smiled at him sleepily for a second and then when her body was fully awake she pushed herself away in fright.

Jareth quickly stood up. "I'm sorry Sarah, I didn't mean to frighten you." He said, "Karl has made you some medicine" he continued as he indicated to the goblet sitting by the bed, "you are to drink that now and he will prepare you some more for later."

"Thanks," Sarah said softly.

"How are you doing?" Jareth asked, a look of genuine concern on his face.

"I'm okay." She said and she began to relax a bit. "I just didn't expect to wake up and find you staring at me." She continued, smiling.

Jareth flashed a quick smile at her and headed to the door, he stopped just before he reached it and turned back to face her, "Drink that up now and then get some rest." He said quickly and then left the room slamming the door behind him, maybe a bit harder than he had meant to.

Sarah stared at the door for a second and then picked up the goblet. It was quite plain and made of silver, she turned it round and examined it closely wondering if Jareth was trying to play a trick on her with it. She then took a look at the liquid inside it, well if you could call it liquid, it looked like it would stay in the goblet if she turned upside down. She decided to brave drinking it, so slowly raised the goblet to her lips and drank down the medicine as quickly as she could.

It didn't taste as bad as she thought it would so she decided Jareth probably wasn't trying to poison her. Sarah yawned loudly and placed the goblet down as she laid back on the bed, her eyes felt heavy and she couldn't resist closing them, within minutes she was fast asleep.

ooo

Jareth walked slowly down the hallway rubbing his temple, he had nearly lost control, but he had wanted her so bad just then. Was her return to the labyrinth rekindling old feelings he had thought were long forgotten? No, he merely lusted after the girl, nothing deeper, she was a pretty young thing and any man would feel the same.

"My pretty young thing." He said out loud and then felt bad for referring to her as a 'thing'. "My pretty young Sarah." He said correcting himself.

He stopped in front of a large window, it was starting to get dark outside and he could see himself reflected in it. He frowned as he saw he still had leaves and things stuck in his hair so he headed off to have a bath to get cleaned up.

ooo

Sarah awoke early the next morning, she rubbed her eyes and stat up. Looking over to the dark wooden chair in front of the dressing table near to the bed she noticed something hanging from it and she was almost certain it hadn't been there yesterday, so she carefully climbed out of the bed and walked over to the chair. Sarah touched the material, it felt soft and silky unlike anything she had ever felt before so she picked it up to get a better look. It was a dress, light blue transparent material over darker blue solid colored material, it had long sleeves and a scooped neckline with white lace detail. There was also another goblet full of medicine and a piece of paper sitting on the table, she picked the paper up and read it.

_Sarah_

_I hope the dress fits, I apologize for the simple design there hasn't been much time to make it. Please drink the goblet of medicine I will see you at breakfast but only if you are feeling up to leaving the room._

_Jareth_

Sarah looked at the dress closely, it didn't look simple to her, it was more elaborate than any dress she'd owned before, not that she'd owned many dresses though. She quickly got changed into it and pulled on the matching shoes that were sitting on the floor,then she placed the robe neatly over the chair.

It fitted surprisingly well. It was a good length, coming to just above her ankles, it was fitted slightly, showing off her slender waist. The scooping neckline was lower than anything she might have chosen her self, but as long as she didn't bend forward too much it shouldn't be a problem. She sat down at the dressing table and decided she better drink the goblet of medicine, it tasted just as bad as it had last night but at least she was prepared this time. She looked around the dressing table and was not surprised to see no brush or comb on it, she didn't want to go raking through Jareth's drawers so she decided to just run her fingers through her hair trying to try and get the tugs out.

As she looked in the mirror she noticed the cut on her face was completely healed, there was no trace of it. She suddenly realized what Jareth had been doing with his hand on her cheek yesterday. She smiled slightly as she touched her cheek

Then there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," Sarah called.

The door opened and Ragna slipped into the room, a smile spread across her face when she noticed Sarah sitting at the table. "Ah milady you're awake." She said happily as she walked towards her, "everyone had been so worried about you." She continued as she took a brush out of her apron pocket and began brushing Sarah's hair.

ooo

It hadn't been long before everybody in the castle knew about Sarah's disappearance yesterday, and the fact that the King himself had flown out to look for her confirmed in everyone's belief that this girl must be something very special indeed. The servants had been gossiping about it non stop since yesterday and their heads nearly exploded with excitement when they discovered Sarah was sleeping in the Kings own bedchambers.

When the king personally asked Ragna to tend to Sarah this morning, the other maids were green with envy and demanded she give a blow by blow account of what happened when she got back.

Ragna was slightly disappointed, and she expected everyone else would be too when she found out the King had not stayed the night with Sarah, he had personally told her as he walked her to his bedchambers, he didn't need any reason for another great rumor to circle the castle so he thought he would clear it up once and for all.

"Bring her to the dining hall when she is ready." He had said as he left Ragna at the bedchamber door and headed to the dining hall himself.

ooo

Ragna finished brushing Sarah's hair and tied it up into a neat ponytail using a beautiful blue colored ribbon which matched exactly with the dress.

"There you are Miss." She said as she stepped back to examine her own handiwork. "If you would like to follow me I'll take you to the dining hall so you can have some breakfast, you must be starving." She continued, smiling.

Sarah carefully climbed up from the chair, her legs were still a bit wobbly but she managed to keep her balance as she walked towards Ragna who was standing at the opened door. She gestured with her hands that Sarah should go first, so Sarah stepped out into the hallway and Ragna followed close behind, closing the door as she exited the bedroom.

Ragna lead Sarah towards the dining hall, she paused outside it and knocked gently on the door.

"Enter." Jareth said loudly.

"Well in you go then." Ragna said to Sarah as she walked backwards down the hall. "I have to go now, don't be shy." She said smirking and then she hurried off down the hallway.

Sarah stood for a moment staring at the door nervously, she flattened the back of her dress carefully, then took a deep breath as she slowly pushed the door open.

Jareth looked up as the door opened. He dressed in a his usual black boots, tight black trousers and white, lose shirt which was opened to expose his chest and golden pendant He hoped it wasn't going to be a repeat of yesterday so he breathed a sigh of relief when Sarah walked into the room.

"Ah Sarah." He said smiling, "your feeling better I presume." He eyed her up and down, she scrubbed up well.

Sarah felt his eyes examining every inch of her body so she quickly walked over and sat at the other place set at the table, to the left of Jareth. The table was laden with fruits, breads and cheeses. There were also some covered platters which Sarah presumed held hot food.

Jareth lifted the lids on one of the platters to reveal bacon, eggs and fried bread. "Help yourself." Jareth said as he began lifting bacon to his plate.

Sarah nervously poured some orange juice, picked up an apple and bit into hungrily. She swallowed it quickly and then spoke to Jareth. "Thank you for the dress." She said quietly.

"You're very welcome." Jareth said as he stared at her intently. "I have to say you look quite lovely in it." He continued, smiling at her.

Sarah looked away and took a gulp of her orange juice. She then continued eating her apple and looked across at Jareth as he ate forkfuls of bacon and eggs.

Jareth cleared his plate and noticed that Sarah was looking at him. "You should eat something hot." He said. "It's a cold day."

"I'm not hungry," Sarah mumbled.

"Sarah please try and speak up." Jareth said sighing as he placed some bacon and eggs on Sarah's plate. "Now eat this please." He said.

"I'm not hungry," Sarah repeated louder.

"You need to keep your strength up, not eating enough isn't going to help your condition." Jareth said louder, he was getting angry now.

"I don't want to it okay." Sarah said, trying to stay calm. "Just leave me alone." She said looking away and folding her arms.

Jareth slammed his hand on the table. "Leave you alone, leave you alone!" He shouted. "If I had just left you alone yesterday, you would be dead. Now are you going to eat that," he said menacingly as he stood up and walked round beside Sarah, "or am I going to make you eat it?"

Sarah looked frightened as Jareth stood close next to her so she quickly started shoveling the food into her mouth.

Jareth sat down again and poured himself some orange juice. He watched as Sarah swallowed the last piece of bacon. "Now," he said. "Don't we feel much better?" He took a sip of orange juice.

Sarah glared at him, "Yeah," she said sarcastically as she dropped her fork on the plate, it landed with a clatter. "Great." And with that she quickly left the dining hall slamming the door behind her.

Jareth frowned, he hadn't meant to lose his temper but he was still angry with her for running away, angry with himself for letting her run away and get into danger. He stood up from his chair and picked up his plate. With all the force he could muster he threw the plate to the floor and watched as it shattered into a hundred pieces.

He slumped back down in his chair and ran a gloved hand through his hair just as there was a loud knock at the door.

"Yes come in," he sighed. He wasn't really in the mood to speak to anyone at the moment but he was quite glad when Davron entered, carrying a large book. He walked up to the table and put the book down, and then he noticed the shattered plate on the floor.

"What happened here?" He asked frowning.

Jareth looked up him. "Sarah and I had another fight, I lost my temper with her, it was so stupid I shouldn't have." He said looking slightly embarrassed.

"A lovers tiff was it?" Davron said smirking. He was good enough friends with the king to know he could get away with this little remark, anyone else would be booted straight across the floor.

"Very amusing." Jareth said, not looking the slightest bit amused. "I assume your visit has another purpose." He enquired, eyebrows raised.

"Ah yes your highness." Davron said quickly as he picked up the large book and placed it in front of the King. "I have found something in this that might interest you."

Jareth looked at the cover of the book, it was dark red leather with black letters embossed on it which read. "_The Collective Histories of the Western Kingdoms of the Underground volume 27"._

"Volume 27." Jareth said his eyebrows raised, "I didn't know we had that much history."

Davron ignored him and opened the book about three quarters through and began running his finger down the page searching for the right place. "Aha." He said triumphantly when he discovered the part he was looking for. "1374," he read. "The Kingdom of Baltine's existence comes to an end as Queen Elmarda, King Francis and Princess Sophia, the last remaining members of the Baltine family, are killed. The land is taken by the neighboring Kingdom of Haramyre granting them access to gold and silver mines as well as the rich, fertile farmland the kingdom had to offer."

Jareth stood up. "That was nearly 400 years ago." He said, "before my time."

"But not before mine." Davron said. "Reading this book has jogged my memory about what happened then. The king and queen were planning to give the ruling of their kingdom over to the people who lived there at the end of that year and King Tharman was not happy with that, not happy at all. If the power went to the people he would never get his hands on the kingdom, he would never be able to rule it. So he attacked before the handover was complete, killing Elmarda and Francis, then burning the castle to the ground."

"And what of Sophia?" Jareth asked.

"She supposedly was killed in the fire, but there were many rumors flying around at the time, rumors that she escaped but most of them were deemed impossible." Davron said as he rubbed his chin.

"Most of them?" Jareth enquired.

Davron sighed. "I don't know how reliable this is." He said. "It was suggested soon after it happened that, a good friend of the king and queen's, a powerful wizard, who lived in the castle, hid Sophia some where before they burnt it down. But she has never been found and the wizard hasn't been seen since."

Jareth began pacing the room, thinking about what Davron had just told him. "So," he said slowly, "Sebastian saw Sarah in woods and mistook her for Elmarda, even though he knew it couldn't possibly be her."

"That is correct." Davron said watching the King pace the room.

"Maybe he is thinking what I am thinking at this moment." He said and then stopped to look at Davron. "That Sarah is actually Sophia."

"My thoughts exactly, but I think what we need to do is find this wizard, if he even exists." Davron said.

"Do you know what he was called?" Jareth asked.

"It was something quite unusual." Davron said trying to think. "Something like D

Argamore." He said still thinking, "or Dargamore."

Davron was cut short by a loud bang just down the hall way.

"What the hell was that?" Jareth said as he ran towards the door.

"I have no idea." Davron said as he followed the king.

Jareth then pulled it open, Davron following close behind as they went off to investigate the loud noise. Neither of them, however, had noticed the large black crow sitting at the window listening to everything that was said.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Sarah sat on the bed of the guest room she had stayed in on the first night. She had her arms crossed and was swinging her legs. She had run all the way from the dining hall so she was now hot and flustered, so she decided to get off the bed and open the window.

She looked out the window for a second taking in the beautiful scenery, the world was still white with snow . She sighed and walked back over to the bed. She climbed onto it and lay down, gazing up to the ceiling.

ooo

Jareth and Davron walked quickly up the hall way towards the source of the noise. They turned a corner at the end of the hall and came face to face with a long bearded old man. He was wearing tattered brown robes, with a piece of rope tied round the waist and was holding a wooden staff. On top of the staff was what looked like a silver claw holding a large ruby.

Jareth and Davron stopped. "Who are you old man?" Jareth demanded in his most fearsome voice. "And what are you doing in my castle?"

"My name is Argamore." He said, smiling. "I came because you called me." He said simply.

Davron stepped forward "The wizard Argamore?" He asked.

The old man nodded. "That is correct." He said.

Jareth bowed his head. "I welcome you to my home," he said. "There are some things I wish to discuss with you, if you would like to follow me we can find some where more comfortable to talk."

Jareth walked down the corridor, leading Argamore towards a small sitting room next to his own chamber. Davron walked beside the old man talking with him.

"We are so honored that you are here," Davron said.

Argamore nodded, "Thank you," he said politely.

"You have been called one of the most powerful wizards that ever lived have you not?" Davron asked.

"I believe that has been said of me." Argamore replied.

Davron looked puzzled for a second and then his face relaxed as he realized he had worked something out. "Appearing far away from where we were," he said smiling. "What a marvelous idea, to keep us in suspense, to keep an air of mystery around you."

A wide grin broke across the old man's wrinkled face and he placed his free hand on Davron's shoulder and began patting it. "My dear boy," he said still smiling broadly, "I must let you in on a secret," he lowered his voice slightly. "I meant to materialize right in front of you but, alas, I am not as young as I used to be and got my bearings a bit wrong."

Davron looked slightly embarrassed for a second, but when he noticed the old wizard was still smiling away, a grin broke on his face to match.

Jareth pushed the door open and beckoned the wizard inside, Davron followed and then Jareth shut the door gently.

"Please have a seat," Jareth said as he gestured to Argamore that he should sit down.

Argamore sat down on a large squashy chair, he rested one hand on the arm and held his staff tight in the other, Jareth and Davron remained standing. "What is it you wish to ask me?" Argamore said.

Jareth clasped his hands behind his back. "I want to ask you about princess Sophia."

Another smile broke across the old man's face. "Ah Sophia, what a wonderful girl she was." He said. "One of my best pupils, by the time she was thirteen she was just as powerful, if not more so than some of the adult wizards in the realm."

"What happened to her?" Jareth asked.

"She died." The wizard said quickly. "Burned to death in the castle I expect." He continued without even a flicker of emotion. Jareth could sense he wasn't being entirely honest with him, so he walked over to the chair and placed his hands on each arm, leaning right in close to the wizard. Argamore sunk back into the chair in alarm.

"You don't have to lie to me," he said calmly. "I am not in league with Tharman, I have no interest in the old lands of the Baltine. You do not need to protect her from me."

Argamore sighed. "You speak the truth," he said. "I see it in you eyes so I will tell you what happened.When Tharman's armies came to the castle, Elmarda and Francis begged me to hide Sophia. I knew there was no point hiding her in the castle, she would be found, so I hid her in the safest place I could think of, I hid her on earth. She was almost fifteen and a powerful wizard, I knew she would be fine on earth, I told her never to return here, it would be too dangerous. So she has remained on earth for the past 400 or so years and she has been safe."

Jareth stepped back and nodded his head. "Thank you for your honesty." He said. "I have reason to believe that Sophia has returned to the Underground, and she is my castle at this very moment." Jareth crossed his arms and waited for the man's reaction.

Argmore just smiled and shook his head. "Sophia is not in the Underground, nor has she been here since she was fifteen, I can guarantee you that." He said

Jareth frowned, "How can you be so sure?" He asked.

"If Sophia was here, or if she was ever to return, I would know. I would be able to feel her power, sense her presence. I have not felt her presence since the last time I saw her, just before I sent her to earth, therefore I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that she is not here. I presume she is still on earth." He said defiantly. "Why is it you ask?" He added.

"There is a girl here in my castle from earth. She unfortunately met Prince Sebastian and he momentarily thought she was Elmarda, even though he knew that was not possible. I assume he came to the same logical conclusion as we did, that she is actually Sophia. But now I know that is not possible either, maybe she just happens to look like them." Jareth said sighing.

"It is possible that this girl is a descendant of Sophia." Argamore said as he rubbed his bearded.

"Is there any way to know for sure?" Jareth asked.

"Yes yes." Argamore said smiling. "A simple blood test would determine her ancestry. We could do that now if you wish?"

Jareth frowned and looked rather guilty. "I should probably talk to her first. She may still be angry with me after our fight earlier."

Argamore nodded his head and said nothing, not wanting to pry into the other mans personal business.

Jareth walked towards the door, "I'll go speak to her, she may need longer to cool off though." He said.

Argamore smiled back at him. "I have all the time in the world," he said as he raised his hand and waved it round the room.

Jareth first checked his own chambers but found, not surprisingly, that Sarah wasn't there. So he headed to the guest room Sarah was in the first night, he was about to walk straight in but decided that might be a bit rude so he chapped on the door lightly. There was no answer. He chapped again a bit harder, but still no answer. He listened at the door, he could hear the shuffling of feet beyond it. He was about to storm into the room and give her a piece of his mind about ignoring him, but he decided that was probably not the best idea. So he stood back from the door slightly and cleared his throat.

"Sarah," he said loudly. "Sarah, I know you're in there." He waited for a second but she still didn't open the door. So he decided to continue speaking. "I just wanted to apologize for my behavior earlier. It was totally disrespectful to you, I should never have shouted at you like that. Its just I worry about you Sarah, I really..." He paused for a second. "I really care about you and I would never want to see you hurt. I hope you are willing to accept my apology, I wish to speak to you and I will be in my sitting room next to my chambers for the rest of the morning, if you wish to join me." With that he walked back to the sitting room quickly.

ooo

Sarah listened carefully to what Jareth had said, a single tear slid down her cheek, so he really did care about her, he wasn't just on some big power trip and plotting some awful revenge for her. She had wanted so badly to cry out for him just then, she had wished with all her heart that after she had not answered the door he had just come straight in.

"Good girl." Sebastian said in a low voice as he kissed the top of her head.

His leather gloved hand was covering Sarah's mouth so tightly she was finding it difficult to breath. The cold steel of his knife was pressed at her neck, she was scared to even swallow lest it cut through her throat.

Sebastian spun her round and he removed his hand from her mouth, but the knife was pressed harder and harder. He put his hand round her waist and pulled her tight into his body. Sarah felt a trickle of blood run down her neck where the knife sliced through her skin. Sebastian lowered his head and licked the blood off gently. Sarah gasped.

She tried to push him away but quick as a flash he threw her onto the bed and straddled her hips as he pinned her arms above her head. With the other hand he slapped her hard across the face.

"Don't mess around with me child," Sebastian said dangerously. Then he bent down and kissed both her cheeks.

Sarah was terrified and she breathed a sigh of relief when Sebastian climbed off her and pulled her back onto the floor.

"There will be plenty of time for that when we get back to my castle." He said and was delighted to see the absolute fear in Sarah's eyes. "We best be off before that retched Goblin King comes snooping around again."

Sebastian clicked his fingers and he and Sarah were gone, the only movement now in the room was the fluttering of the curtains at the open window.


	10. Chapter 10

Hey everyone, sorry its been so long waiting for this chappy, I'm back at university now so I've been busy. Hope you enjoy!

**Chapter 10**

Jareth walked back into the sitting room to see Davron and Argamore chatting away. Davron seemed thrilled to be able to converse with such a great wizard. Jareth cleared his throat loudly and caused Davron to nearly jump out of his skin.

He bowed down to the king, the old wizard remained seated. "Your majesty," Davron said. "Did you talk to Sarah? Is she coming?"

Jareth sighed. "I think she is still mad, she didn't answer the door when I knocked. When I spoke to her through the door she ignored me." He said as he rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. "I did apologize and invite her to join us, so she may come yet." He added.

Davron smiled. "I'm sure she will."

Jareth took a seat opposite the wizard, "please, continue your conversation." He said to Davron and Argamore.

The wizard nodded his head politely and continued speaking with Davron. He seemed fascinated with all the complex spells and potions Argmore was telling him about. Jareth had some skills with magic, Davron did also. But they were nothing compared to what this man could do. Jareth watched the two men talk, listening intently to what they were saying.

Argamore abruptly stopped in the middle of a sentence, his eyes raised to the ceiling, then her carried on.

Jareth edged forward on his seat. "What is it?" He said, a look of concern on his face.

Argamore smiled, a sad smile. "Oh nothing." He said. "Just a disadvantage of being powerful with magic, it's why I usually stay on my own, I've become a sort of antenna for magical acts, the more powerful ones usually, such as appearing and disappearing. I imagine someone has just transported themselves either into or away from your castle."

Jareth stood up looking alarmed, Davron did too.

"No one in this castle but the King and I have powerful enough magic to transport ourselves." Davron told the wizard.

"I'm not expecting any visitors either." Jareth added as he headed towards the door, followed closely by Davron and Argamore. "Can you tell where it came from?" Jareth asked the wizard.

"I'm afraid not," he said, shaking his head. "All I can say is that it has come from inside this castle, or the surrounding city."

Jareth looked up and down the hallway, then his eyes widened as a thought came into his head. "Sarah." He said quietly then quickly walked up the hallway to her room.

Jareth knocked on the door firmly. "Sarah are you in there?" He shouted. "I'm not playing around, either you open this door or I'm coming in." There was still no response so Jareth pushed the door open, the room was empty. "Go check the bathroom." He told Davron as he looked round the room, checking under the bed and in the wardrobe, still calling out her name.

Davron came out of the bathroom, "she isn't there." He said. "Do you think she ran away again?" He added.

Before Jareth could speak Argamore said, "There are the remnants of a spell in this room, magic has been performed in here recently." Looking around the room and nodding his head. "Does this girl Sarah have magical powers?" The wizard asked Jareth.

Jareth frowned, maybe she did. "I don't think so." He said as he walked over to the opened window and closed it. He then looked down at the floor, something caught his eye, and he picked it up, a large black feather. He walked back into the centre of the room. "Sebastian." He spat. "He has been here, he has taken her."

Argamore took the feather from the king's hand and stroked it gently. "Ah, prince Sebastian." He said, then he closed his eyes and muttered a few words, the feather turned white. He handed it back to the King. "This may help you if you wish to claim your Sarah back from Sebastian."

Jareth bowed. "Thank you for all your help." He said.

Argamore bowed back. "I must leave now." He said as his body began to fade. "But should you need my assistance again, you know what to do." And he was gone.

Jareth and Davron rushed out of the room. "I am not letting that bastard take Sarah from me." Jareth said as he slammed the door shut.

ooo

Sarah felt a bump as she and Sebastian rematerialized. They were in a large, elaborately decorated room. Sarah looked around and noticed a man sitting at the head of the room on a large wooden throne.

Sebastian was gripping Sarah's upper arm tightly and began walking quickly towards the other man in the room.

"Father, I have her." Sebastian said excitedly. Tharman got off his throne and walked towards his son and the terrified young girl.

He gripped her chin tightly and turned her face to either side then he let go and stepped back. "She certainly does resemble Elmarda, it is possible she is her daughter." He said

Sarah looked confused and began to speak, but she was cut short by Sebastian roughly shaking her. "Quiet!" He shouted at her.

"Manors, manors son." Tharman said as he approached Sarah. He stopped just in front of her and began stroking her hair. "You have beautifully soft hair," he said smiling.

Sarah felt Sebastian's grip tighten, she watched as father and son exchanged glances, Tharman stepped back.

"Tell me child," Tharman said. "Are you princess Sophia, are you the daughter of Queen Elmarda and King Francis?"

Sarah looked around the room nervously, "No," she said quietly.

Sebastian and Tharman looked at each other again. "She could be lying." Sebastian said.

"Or she may not remember who she is." Tharman said. "She may not even be anything to do with the Baltine family. But there is only one way to find out." He continued then clapped his hands together twice.

Sarah heard a door open and shut behind her, she looked round and saw a man walking towards them. Well if you could call him a man. He was quite tall and slender, his skin looked slightly scaly, it was light brown and dark green in some parts. He had long black hair, tied back, and two short brown horns sticking up from his head. As he circled round them Sarah noticed he also had a long tail which almost touched the ground, there was a large spike at the end of it. He was wearing black trousers and a white shirt with a long black apron on top, his feet were bare, but covered in scales and he had three toes with pointed talons. He was also carrying a large, black leather bag in one hand and book in the other. He stopped and bowed to the king.

"Thank you for coming Schim." Tharman said then he pointed at Sarah. "This is the young lady you will be taking blood from today."

Schim turned round and looked at Sarah, then smiled at her, grunting slightly. He placed the book on the floor in front of her then opened up the bag and began rummaging through it. He pulled out a small table and set it up, then started placing various needles and vials on it, Sarah shuddered.

After setting up he rolled up one of the arms of Sarah's dress, then tightly tied a belt round her arm, just above her elbow and began tapping her fore arm, looking for a vein.

Sarah flinched as he touched her, his fingers felt cold and he had long, sharp black nails. She backed away from him, shaking violently.

"Stand still." Sebastian barked as he pushed her for ward again.

Schim went back to the table and picked a rather large needle, Sarah closed her eyes and she felt a sharp prick as the needle pierced her skin.

"Hold this." Schim said to her in a snake like voice as he pressed some cloth to her arm. Sarah did as she was told and pressed down hard.

Sarah watched as Schim began busing himself with the book and he blood and various other things he had on his table. She glanced firstly to Sebastian then to Tharman to see they were both staring intently at Schim. She felt the grip round her arm loosen slightly as Sebastian shifted his feet.

After what seemed like hours of clanking glassware and rustling of book pages Schim turned to face Tharman.

"She is not Sophia." Schim hissed.

Sarah listened as Tharman and Sebastian both let out sighs of relief, but she had a feeling Schim wasn't finished.

"She is a descendant of Sophia, by what I can tell from her blood, she is Sophia's granddaughter." He said mater of factly, and then began tidying up his equipment.

Sarah gasped, both Tharman and Sebastian looked at her curiously for a few seconds.

"You are certain?" Tharman asked.

Schim turned round, "I would stake my life on it your majesty." He said as he flicked his forked tongue out.

"Thank you Schim, you may go." Tharman said.

Schim bowed down low and then quickly made his way to the door closing it quietly behind him.

Sebastian turned to face Sarah and grabbed hold of her other arm. "So your grandmother was Princess Sophia." He said calmly, a smile creeping over his face.

"I..I..I didn't know." Sarah stuttered. "She died before I was born." She then heard a noise and looked round in horror to see Tharman unsheathing a sword and walking towards her. She quickly bolted for the door, a startled Sebastian just watched her run. But before she even got four steps, she collapsed, it felt like an invisible bond was tied round her ankles.

Tharman walked up to her, his sword by his side.

"Father, what are you doing?" Sebastian shouted as he walked towards them.

"I am going to kill this girl, she has a claim to the Baltine lands and I'm not giving them up." He said as he raised the sword to Sarah's throat.

Sebastian pushed his Father's arm down. "No father, I have a better idea."

"And what might that be?" Tharman asked as he turned to face his son.

Sebastian stroked his chin and smiled. "I shall make her my wife, she shall bear me a son, our two kingdom's shall be forever bound by blood."

"I'll never marry you." Sarah shouted, her voice shaking.

Sebastian walked over to the cowering girl and picked her up, holding her close. "Well you know you don't have to agree to marriage." He said smirking. "The laws of this kingdom state that if a child of royal blood is conceived, it is as good as marriage."

Sebastian stroked Sarah's belly lightly, "Such an innocent young thing," he said sighing. "But not for much longer." He continued as he began dragging Sarah towards the door.

Tharman laughed. "Such a feisty girl." He said as he watched Sarah kicking and screaming all the way to the door.

Sebastian opened the door, "I think I shall enjoy this," he said, smiling, as he flung Sarah over his shoulder and marched through the door.


	11. Chapter 11

Changed the rating to R just incase, thanx for all the reviews so far, enjoy!

**Chapter 10**

Jareth and Davron hurried towards the armory.

"We have to be careful Davon." Jareth said as he opened the armory door and walked in. The room was huge, full of all kinds of weapons and armor. Swords, shields, crossbows every weapon you could imagine and more. "Sebastian will expect me to come after Sarah, he may hurt her if he knows what we are doing, we have to be careful." He continued as he pulled off his shirt off and put on a chain mail vest.

Davron did the same. "There is no time to gather an army, we have to go now." He said as he picked up a sword.

Jareth looked round as he sheathed his own sword. "You don't have to come with me Davron."

Davron shook his head and smiled. "I would follow you into the fire of hell itself."

Jareth smiled and pulled Davron into a tight embrace. "Let's go my old friend." He said as he walked out of the door.

ooo

Sebastian pushed open the door to his bedchambers and shut it behind him, locking it. He then marched over to the four poster bed in the centre of the room and dropped the struggling Sarah onto it. He then stepped back and began removing his boots.

Sarah leapt off the bed, her heart pounding as she ran to the door. She yanked at the handle as hard as she could but it would not budge. Sebastian meanwhile just ignored her and took of his waistcoat and carefully folded it and placing it on his desk chair.

Sarah ran over to the large window on the other side of the room and tied to pry it open, but not surprisingly it wouldn't budge. She turned round to see Sebastian approaching her so she fled to the other side of the room.

"Calm down my pet." Sebastian said as he removed his gloves and placed them on the window ledge. "Just watching you run around is making me tired."

Sarah pressed herself right up against the wall as Sebastian walked up to her. He raised his hand to her face. Sarah inhaled deeply and closed her eyes tight as she felt Sebastian's cold hand caress her cheek, she felt his other hand slip round her waist and his lips were suddenly pressed against hers his tongue trying to enter her mouth. Sarah didn't like this one bit so pushed him away as hard as she could.

Sebastian stumbled slightly and Sarah mustered all the courage she could and slapped him hard across the face.

Sebastian looked startled for a second as he rubbed his glowing cheek. Sarah took her opportunity and ran towards the bed, climbing on top of it. If she could reach the window, if she could smash it, she may be able to escape.

Her thoughts were cut short as she felt Sebastian grab her ankles. She let out a scream of frustration as he dragged her back towards him.

"You're not getting away that easily." Sebastian laughed as he dragged her closer. "The fun has only just started."

Sarah screamed again as Sebastian pulled himself on top of her. She was scratching, kicking, hitting trying to get away, but Sebastian just held her down tightly.

"Get off me you bastard." Sarah screamed. "Help, somebody help!"

Sebastian just laughed and reached down to his ankle producing a silver dagger. "I think you two have already met." He said as he brought the dagger up and rested it under Sarah's chin, point facing upwards.

Sarah was still screaming, cursing Sebastian with every word she knew, still desperately tying to free herself.

Sebastian just kissed her on the forehead and dragged the knife down her chest, cutting open the dress.

Tears streamed down Sarah's face. "Jareth," she whispered, hardly daring to breath, "help me."

Sebastian finished splitting the dress and pulled it open bearing Sarah's silken under dress. That would be removed soon enough as well he thought to himself. He stared at Sarah's chest watching it rise and fall as she gasped and sobbed. He looked up at his young prize, her face glistened with tears.

"You look so beautiful when you're crying." He said softly.

Sarah sobbed even more, her breathing coming in short gasps. She extended her neck right back, not wanting to look upon Sebastian any more. "Jareth, please." She wailed.

ooo

Davron and Jareth hurried through the stone hallways of the castle, trying to formulate some sort of plan.

"We can't transport ourselves straight into the castle." Jareth said. "Sebastian will have though of that one."

Davron nodded his head in agreement. "We could transport ourselves to just outside the boundaries of the castle, hopefully then our presence will remain unknown." He said.

Jareth stopped. "Yes, that is what we will do." He said as he produced a crystal. He took hold of Davron's shoulder then threw the crystal to the ground, the two men disappeared.

ooo

Jareth and Davron reappeared just outside the wall of king Thaman's Castle. The fiery forest was just behind them. They glanced at each other briefly then hurried into the forest, taking cover in the undergrowth.

Moments later, a group of four heavily armed guards marched past.

"That was lucky," Jareth whispered as the guards marched past.

"Yes it was," Davron said as he wiped his brow and cautiously emerged from the forest, looking around to make sure the coast was clear.

Jareth clambered out behind him and looked around carefully his self, when he was certain everything was ok he began to speak. "We have to find a way to get into the castle." He said as he paced up and down. "I have to get to Sarah."

"An invisibility spell?" Davron suggested.

Jareth stopped pacing for a second. "No." He said. "Neither of us could make one powerful enough, it wouldn't last." He continued pacing.

Davron frowned. "Well we have to do something, we can't just stand here." He said angrily.

"I know, I know." Jareth mumbled, then an idea formed in his mind, he reached inside his cloak and pulled out the white feather.

"Aragmore's gift." Davron said excitedly.

Jareth closed his eyes and muttered the ancient words of the invisibility spell as he grasped the feather tightly.

Davron watched as his body began to fade and then he was completely gone.

"The spell has worked." He said, staring at the spot where Jareth stood moments ago. "For how long I do not know."

Jareth wasn't sure how well the spell would hold either, but suddenly he felt something, like someone tugging at his very heart, it was Sarah, she was calling for him, and then nothing mattered anymore, he had to get to her.

"Sarah needs me." He said quickly. "I have to help her."

"But the spell your majesty, it may not hold long enough." Davron said desperately.

"I'm going to have to take that chance." Jareth said. "Do what ever you can from here, I am going to get Sarah."

With that Jareth walked quickly off towards the castle gate. Davron stared for a short while wondering if the king had gone, then headed back into the forest trying to formulate his own plan to get into the castle.

ooo

"You really think your Goblin King will come to save you?" Sebastian said as he threw the ripped dress to the floor, he then removed his shirt and threw it on top of the dress. "Soon it will be my name you will be screaming." He continued with a wicked glint in his eyes.

Sarah looked up at him then spat straight into his face.

Sebastian placed the dagger down and wiped the spittle from his face. "You are going to wish you never did that." He said as he lay his whole body on top of Sarah, pinning her arms above her head and parting her knees with his legs.

Sarah struggled against him sobbing violently. "Please let me go." She begged.

Sebastian looked at her. "You're mine forever." He whispered as he shifted his hips

Sebastian smiled as he felt Sarah shiver underneath him. "I am really going to enjoy this." He said as he stroked her cheek. He traced his other hand down her belly as her sobs echoed round the room.


	12. Chapter 12

Hey everyone, quite a short wee chappy, hope you like!

**Chapter 12**

Jareth cautiously approached the gates to Tharman's castle, there were several guards posted at it, thankfully they didn't seem to have seen him. Jareth hoped this meant the spell was working and not that the guards were just incompetent.

He walked towards the gate and stopped about fifteen feet away, the guards were not paying any attention to him so he assumed they could not see him. Then came his next problem, how to get through the gates, he decided if he just walked up and opened them the guards might decide something was amiss when the gates would appear to open by themselves.

But then suddenly, as if his prayers had been answered, the gates were opened and out came a large cart pulled by two black horses. Jareth took his opportunity and slipped quickly and silently through the open gate.

Beyond the gates was a large thriving city, not goblins like in Jareth's own kingdom, but fae like himself. He hurried through the streets not even bothering to remain silent, even if someone thought they had heard something, by the time they turned round Jareth would be long gone.

He reached the doors to the castle before long and was faced with the same dilemma as before, how to get in.

There were many more guards here than at the gates to the city and they looked more alert also.

Jareth stood for a few moments, pondering what to do, when suddenly the door opened. Jareth not wanting to miss this opportunity rushed up to the door to see and old man walking out, his face was in shadow but as Jareth looked at him the man turned his head and stared straight at him. For a second he thought the invisibility spell had failed but he looked around at the guards, who were ignoring him. Jareth looked back at the man.

"Argamore," Jareth mouthed silently.

The old wizard just winked at him and moved letting Jareth slip past into the castle, the door slamming behind him.

ooo

Sarah hugged her knees up to her chest as she sat on the floor with her back against the wall. She was shaking violently, her breathing in short gasps. She lifted a shaking hand and wiped a tear from her cheek.

She didn't know how she was going to cope with this, she didn't know how anyone could cope. She didn't even want to think about it, but how could she block such a thing out of her mind?

Sarah dropped her head into her knees and began crying loudly, letting her feelings surface, she cried louder than she had her whole life and somehow it made her feel slightly better.

"Jareth, please hurry." She whispered to herself, hoping with every inch of her body he would answer her prayers.

ooo

Jareth had only ever been in Tharman's Castle once before, and that was a long time ago, the winding hallways and many stairs were confusing. He decided he could risk using a spell to locate Sarah. He quickly produced a crystal and whispered some magic into it, the crystal began to glow and Jareth began to walk.

The crystal glowed stronger as Jareth neared Sarah and its light faded if he ventured in the wrong direction. Eventually he reached a set of large wooden doors. Jareth knew Sarah must behind the door and he dropped his hands to the handles, the crystal vanished.

Not surprisingly to Jareth the door was locked, but looked doors were no problem to a skilled magician, he twisted his hand muttering a spell and the door unlocked. He quickly pushed it open, drawing his sword and dreading what he would find inside.

As he entered he immediately spotted Sarah in the corner. She was staring at the door.

"Who's there?" She asked, her voice shaking.

Jareth quickly removed the invisibility spell and rushed over to Sarah, putting away his sword. "Sarah are you okay?" He asked as he picked her up and held her close to his chest. He then held her out to get a better look stroking her face gently. "You're bleeding." He said softly, his anger welling at what Sebastian may have done to her.

With that Sarah just burst into tears and between sobs she managed to speak. "It's not my blood." She said and then she pointed to the bed.

Jareth turned round to see a half naked Sebastian lying on the bed.

"I....I killed him." Sarah wailed. "I didn't mean to kill him, the knife was just there by my hand and he was going to rape me. I'm so sorry I didn't mean to, I promise I didn't."

Jareth hugged Sarah in close, stroking her coal black hair soothing her. "Its okay." He whispered over and over.

After Sarah had calmed down, Jareth cautiously walked over to the bed, his hand on his sword. He looked down at Sebastian, he was lying in a pool of blood and had a large knife wound in his side. His hands were pressed on the wound trying to stem the bleeding. As Jareth looked down at him, he thought he saw a flutter of Sebastian's eyelids, so he firmly pressed his fingers to his neck.

"He's got a pulse." Jareth announced. "The bastard's not dead yet." He continued his lip curled in disgust.

Sarah rushed quickly to his side. "You have to save him!" She shouted, her eyes wide.

Jareth looked round at her. "This man tried to rape you." He said gently as he pulled Sarah into an embrace. "He doesn't deserve to live."

Sarah looked up at him. "You have to save him, I don't think I could live another day if I had killed someone, please save him." She explained desperately as tears again welled up in her hazel eyes.

Jareth sighed. "If that is what you wish my dear." He said and then picked up Sebastian from the bed and headed out the door, Sarah following close behind.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Jareth lead the way and Sarah stayed a few steps behind him, Sebastian may be on deaths door but she didn't want to be anywhere near him right now. Jareth then stopped outside a set of large wooden, which were slightly ajar, Sarah recognized them as the throne room.

Jareth stepped cautiously up to the doors and peered in. "It's empty." He whispered to Sarah. "We can leave him in here, wait for someone to find him."

Sarah nodded at the suggestion just as Sebastian let out a loud moan.

"Quite!" Jareth hissed as he pushed the heavy doors open still trying to balance Sebastian in his arms.

Sarah followed him in slowly, her eyes and ears peeled for any danger. She watched as Jareth placed Sebastian's limp body on the cold stone floor. Sarah thought he might be dead until he let out another moan as his bare torso came in contact with the stone.

Once he was on the ground Jareth marched quickly back to Sarah who was still standing at the door. She was shivering, only wearing a thin underdress. Jareth hugged her tight and whispered in her ear. "Just say the word anytime and I'll kill him for what he did to you."

Sarah pushed him back. "You know I never will." She said quietly.

Jareth carefully took her hand and walked out of the throne room. "We have to get out of here." He said quickly as he produced a crystal and whispered into it. "Damn it," he said when nothing happened. "Something is interfering with my magic, we'll just have to get out of here on foot." He continued as they walked briskly down the darkened stone hallway. Slowly Jareth let go of Sarah's quivering hand and slipped his arm protectively round her slender waist.

"Oh how precious." A cold voice said from behind.

Jareth let go of Sarah quickly and turned round unsheathing his sword, but Tharman was Quicker, slashing him across the stomach and kicking him to the ground.

"Jareth!" Sarah screamed as she rushed over and knelt beside him, pressing her hands to his wound.

She screamed again as Tharman grabbed her hair and threw her against the opposite wall, knocking her out. "Sebastian may have failed to take this young thing, but I will not." He said fiercely indicating to an unconscious Sarah on the floor.

Jareth extended his hand slowly towards his sword but Tharman was too fast, kicking it out of the way and placing a foot on Jareth's chest. He then took his sword and again slashed it across Jareth's stomach.

"Don't you dare touch her." Jareth said through gritted teeth.

"I don't think you, Goblin King, are in any kind of position to make demands of me." Tharman said as he slashed Jareth again, this time across the upper arm, and watched as he cried out in pain.

"You will not touch her." Jareth said, almost as a whisper.

Tharman just smirked and placed the tip of his sword against Jareth's neck and leaned in closer towards him. "Once this girl gives me a child the Baltine Kingdom will be forever mine and once I kill you, your kingdom will also be mine." He said, smiling all the while. "I will be the most powerful man in the western hemisphere," he said sighing. "Nothing or no one will be able to stand in my way."

Sarah gave an audible moan and slowly opened her eyes. Jareth and Tharman both looked over as she began to come round.

Tharman looked back to Jareth who was still staring at Sarah. "You know what would make this even more fun," he said, smirking. "You mister Goblin King, being there to witness the deflowering of this precious young thing."

The moment those words escaped Thaman's mouth, Jareth bucked with all his strength, momentarily startling Tharman. But Jareth was too weak, and Tharman was too quick, he clicked his fingers and Jareth was instantaneously magically bound to the wall, opposite to where Sarah lay.

"Nice try." Tharman said as he smoothed out his robes. "But I think I shall still allow you front row seats to the little floorshow I have planned for later."

Tharman then walked over to Sarah who was still a little groggy, he stroked his hand under her chin and looked back over to Jareth. "She'll be able to see you, you know, the whole time." He said smirking. "She'll be wondering why her dear Goblin King will not save her. She'll be crying out for you and you won't be able to help her, poor little lamb."

Tharman then picked Sarah up and held her round the waist as she got her balance. "Guards!" He shouted down the hallway and watched as a legion of soldiers marched round the corner in the distance and began walking towards them. He looked back towards Jareth briefly and then to Sarah, stroking her coal black hair. "Let it begin."


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Jareth watched helplessly as the guards approached. He glanced over to Tharman who was clutching Sarah tightly, stroking her hair and smirking. Sarah was tying to wiggle free but she was held too firmly. It made Jareth's blood boil with rage just watching them, he strained against his restraints, gritting his teeth.

"Let her go Tharman." Jareth said firmly. "Let her go or you'll regret it."

Tharman stopped smirking and looked over at Jareth. His head was limp and his forehead was covered in beads of sweat, blood was oozing from his wounds and his voice was breathless.

"I say again Jareth, I don't think you are in any position to make threats." Tharman said calmly as he began walking towards Jareth, dragging Sarah with him. "And I also think it is you who will be having regrets. Regretting you didn't take this girl as your own the moment she set foot in this realm, regretting the fact that you cannot save her, that she will soon be mine for ever and that you, Goblin King, will soon be dead."

Tharman was now standing about a foot away, Jareth looked up at him and then over to Sarah, tears were steaming down her face. She tried to reach over to him but Tharman pulled her back with him by her hair.

"Well my dear neighbor I must say you are looking slightly worse for wear, not sure if you'll be making it to the little show I had planned for you." Tharman said in a mock sympathetic tone, tilting his head to one side slightly.

Jareth looked up again, Sarah was trying to reach out to him, she was calling his name, but he couldn't hear her properly.

"Sarah?" He whispered breathlessly. His eyes were heavy, his limbs were heavy, his head was heavy, in fact his whole body was heavy. He was panting now and could feel sweat trickling down his face. His hair was limp and stuck to his forehead and neck. He could feel his lifeblood draining away and there wasn't anything he could do to stop it. Everything seemed to be going in slow motion, everything was quiet now, all he could hear was the sound of his own heavy breathing. He glanced at Sarah, she was still trying to reach him, but she was held fast by the strong arms of Tharman. Jareth then glanced up at Tharman himself, there was a large grin across his face, a triumphant grin, a victory grin. He knew he had won and all he had to do now was wait for his opponent to bleed to death.

"Jareth!" Sarah shouted as she strained against Tharman's grip. "Jareth please don't die!" She pleaded desperately. "I'm sorry I didn't mean for any of this to happen, I'm so sorry." She watched as Jareth's head lulled up and down. He would glance at her briefly but then his head would fall to his chest again. Each time this happened Sarah's heart would literally stop, until he raised his head again, showing he hadn't given up the fight for life completely. She got more and more hysterical every time this happened and her legs were starting to give way from the sheer effort of reaching out to Jareth. Tharman noticed this and his smile disappeared, a frown growing across his forehead instead.

"I think we should be leaving you now Jareth." Tharman said.

Jareth raised his head up.

"I think my Sarah is getting a bit too distressed and upset. Stress you see, it's not good when trying to conceive." He said matter-of-factly.

"No." Jareth whispered, mustering all the strength he could manage. "Sarah!"

Tharman started dragging Sarah down the hallway with him.

"Jareth!" She screamed. "Jareth no, you can't die!"

"Well my dear I'm afraid that's not really up to you who dies and who doesn't, and unfortunately for you there seems to be a bleak outlook for your dear Goblin King." Tharman said smirking.

The guards were close to where Jareth was bound. Tharman spoke to them. "Make sure he doesn't escape." He said smirking as he glanced back at the seemingly lifeless body of the Goblin King chained to the wall. "Not that there's much chance of that."

The lead guard nodded, his metal helmet clanged, it completely covered his face but he was still able to speak clearly. "As you wish your majesty." He said in a gruff voice.

"Jareth no!" Sarah screamed again. "You can't die. You can't die because I love you."

Tharman stopped dead and turned back to the eight or so guards who were standing around the dying Jareth. "Kill him." He shouted. "I've had enough of this, kill him now."

The nearest guard unsheathed his sword and approached Jareth slowly.

Sarah was standing shaking her head, Tharman gripped her tightly. "Do it now!" He shouted to the guard.

The guard pulled back his sword, ready to drive it deep into Jareth's heart.

There was another sound before he could do the dreadful deed, another sword being unsheathed. With one quick movement the first guard slumped to the floor, dead.

"What the hell is going on down there?" Tharman screamed, marching back down the hall way, again dragging Sarah with him.

There was another thump, another guard crumpled to the floor, dead. Tharman speeded up his pace. Thump, another one dead. Thump, only four left standing. Three of them turned to face Tharman drawing their swords, the forth approached Jareth, undid the restraints and lowered him gently to the ground.

"Let her go." The guard closest to Tharman and Sarah said.

Tharman did nothing.

The guard walked closer, the other two right behind him and the forth kneeling on the floor next to Jareth. He pointed his sword to Tharman's throat. "Let her go." He repeated firmly.

Sarah felt his grip on her loosen, and she quickly ran off to where Jareth was lying. "Jareth," she whispered. "We're safe now." She smiled, blinking back the tears. She looked up at the man kneeling next to her, it was Davron, his helmet on the floor beside him. He had wrapped a cloth tightly around the wound on Jareth's arm and was pressing more cloth firmly on the wound on Jareth's stomach. Jareth moaned as he increased the pressure.

"You big wuss." He said jokingly as a single tear slid down his cheek. He turned to the three guards standing with Tharman. "Take his sword from him." He said.

Jareth turned his head to look at Davron. "How did you……?" He started saying.

"Shhhh," Davron soothed. "You need to keep you strength up."

"He's dead!" Tharman laughed. "You cannot save him! It's too late!"

Davron shook his head, Tharman's words rang truth in his ears."Press down hard on this." He said to Sarah and then stood up, unsheathing his sword and walking over to Tharman. "You deserve to die." He spat at him. "But I'm not like you." He continued as he put his sword away. "But mark my words Tharman, you will pay."

With that Davron walked back over to where Sarah and Jareth were and called over two of the guards who were standing with Tharman. "Carry him out to the cart waiting outside, Argamore is waiting for us there, he will be able to get us outside the city walls unseen, then we can get back to the goblin castle."

The two guards walked over and quickly heaved Jareth up from the floor. He moaned feebly. His eyes remaining shut.

Sarah stroked his face, his skin was cold and damp with sweat. "Please stay with me Jareth." She whispered, "I need you."

Davron then walked back to Tharman and indicated that the last guard should go help with Jareth as well. "You haven't heard the last of this Tharman." He said and turned, heading quickly towards where the others stood.

Sarah looked up and gasped, "Davron look out!" She shouted.

And then it came, the terrible sound of metal penetrating flesh and there was a thump as another body fell to the ground, dead.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

It all seemed to go in slow motion as the body slumped to the ground. The other guards stopped dead in their tracks, looking over to where the body lay.

Blood dripped from the sword onto the floor, it was the only sound the sword bearer could hear. No sound of a dying man struggling for life, no coughing and choking as the blood fills his lungs, no frantic panting trying to catch a breath, his life was gone, stabbed straight through the heart, he was dead before he hit the floor.

Sarah was mesmerized, it had happened so quickly, she couldn't stop staring. A touch to her arm brought her out of the trance.

"We have to get out of here." One of the guards said as he started dragging her towards the door.

"We can't leave him." Sarah said desperately as she was herded away.

"He's gone," the guard said. "He sacrificed himself to save the rest of us, he wouldn't want us throw that all away now."

Sarah allowed herself to be pushed through the door by Emarith, he then turned to the last guard who was now staring at Davron's lifeless body.

He watched as Tharman ripped the cloak of the body and wiped his sword down with it and then turned to face the two men staring at him.

"You will pay for that Tharman." The guard spat gripping his sword tightly.

"We have to get out of here Darton," Emarith said desperately. "Your brother didn't give his life so you could just throw away yours in a fit of rage, but mark my words we will avenge his death."

"You fucking coward!" Darton shouted at Tharman. "Stabbing a man in the back is as low as you can get, you cowardly snake!"

Tharman stood up and turned to face Darton and Emarith. "Always strike at the opportune moment, that's what my father taught me, he taught me well, too well in fact, I stabbed him to death in his sleep." Tharman said as he smirked at the memory. "Oh and only turn your back on a corpse, lest you become one." He said smirking again. "I'm afraid that lesson has come a bit too late for your dear brother."

Dalton began to move forward but Emarith grabbed him tightly on the shoulder and pulled him back. "Let's go." He growled into his ear. "Don't worry, he will pay."

Emarith looked up at Tharman, and then beyond him to the legion of guards that were advancing along the hallway behind him. "You hear that Tharman, you haven't heard the last of this, this means war!"

Tharman bowed his head slightly and then stood upright. "Then war it shall be." He said, smirking, just as the two men disappeared through the door.

The head of the legion stopped as he reached the king and bowed his head just as Tharman had done moments before. "Shall we go after them sire?" He asked

Tharman looked over at the guard. "No, no. They will be long gone by now. They have some sort of wizard helping them. But never mind we have a war to prepare for."

"Yes sire." The guard said as Tharman began to walk off.

Tharman turned round before he reached the end of the hallway. "I am off to see my son in the infirmary, those bodies shall be gone before I return captain, I do not want them stinking up the place."

"As you wish your majesty." The guard said as the some of the remaining guards moved to pick up the bodies, but just as they went to pick up Davron, his body disappeared into thin air.

"What is this trickery?" One of the guards exclaimed as he stepped back.

Tharman looked back to see what was going on and saw that Davron's body was no longer to be seen. "Fucking wizards." He muttered to himself. "Forget about it." He shouted to the guards. "That wizards doing, no doubt. Get rid of the others and clean this place up, blood stains something terrible you know." And with that he disappeared off to the infirmary.

ooo

Five bodies landed with a thump in the entrance hall of the castle beyond the goblin city and one wizard landed gracefully on his feet.

Sarah was lying next to Jareth on the ground, she sat up and placed her face above Jareth's mouth, feeling his soft breath on her cheek. "Jareth please hold on." She whispered, kissing him on the forehead.

The guard on the other side of Jareth stood up quickly and shouted over to Argamore, "Quick, you've got to save him."

The old wizard leaned against his staff, he looked like he had aged 100 years in the last half hour. "I am no healer and a healer is what he needs." He said breathlessly, almost in a whisper. "I am weak, I must rest."

Argamore then walked slowly over to Jareth as Emarith shouted for assistance. "Darton." He said slowly, "I have transported Davron's body to the mortuary in this city, I imagine his body would not be treated with much respect in Tharman's kingdom." Argamore then placed his hand on Jareth's forehead. "Be strong Goblin King." He said as his body slowly faded away, until he was completely gone, staff and all.

Sarah looked up from Jareth to see Karl, Ragna and several other servants rushing towards them.

Sarah was pulled away from Jareth by Emarith so there was room to maneuver Jareth onto a stretcher.

Karl then began twisting his hand round forming a strange blue swirling mist in front of the stretcher. "This will transport me and the king directly to the infirmary, it is not powerful for anyone else to go through." Karl said quickly. "You lot." He said as he pointed to a select few of the crowd gathered around. "Go up to the infirmary now to assist me, the rest of you, I will inform you of the kings condition in due time, do not come up to the infirmary and pester me about it, that will not help the king." With that Karl and a stretcher bound Jareth disappeared into the swirling portal and several people rushed off to the infirmary. Sarah took a last look around and her world went dark as she collapsed into Emarith's arms.

ooo

Sarah awoke with a start and looked around. She was lying on a sofa, covered by a cloak, in a small living room. A fire crackled heartily in the corner, she pushed her self up so she was sitting upright and clutched her head as the room began swirling from sitting up too fast.

"Ah you're awake." Emarith said, smiling slightly.

"Jareth.." Sarah started

"No word yet." Emarith said shaking his head. "But don't worry, Karl is the best healer in the kingdom, maybe even in this world, Jareth is in good hands."

"How long was…." Sarah began.

"Were you out for?" Emarith finished

Sarah nodded her head.

"Sorry I keep interrupting you, bad habit of mine. You were unconscious for about half an hour, I didn't know what room you were staying in so I just brought you in here." Emarith continued.

"Thank you." Sarah said, giving a polite smile.

Emarith looked at the other two men and in the room and then back to Sarah. "I'm sorry, how very rude of me not to introduce myself, my name is Emarith, I am the King's cousin."

Sarah looked up at Emarith, "I'm very pleased to meet you." She said. Then she looked carefully at Emarith, he had taken off most of the disguise he had been wearing, she could see the resemblance to Jareth, he was a good looking man, the same build, the same hair. But his eyes, his eyes were different, not the same magic found in Jareth's. With that thought she had to look away, thinking about Jareth brought a tear to her eye.

Emarith then stood up and walked over to Dalton. "This is Darton, he is Davron's brother." He said.

Sarahs eyes widened slightly, she had forgotten about Davron, the man who had given his own life to save his King's. "I am so sorry about your brother Darton, he was a great man." She said as she blinked back the tears, the fresh tears, the tears for Davron.

Darton smiled. "Thank you very much, Davron would appreciated that you thought so highly of him." He said as he bowed his head, Sarah saw the tears glistening in his eyes as the light from the fire caught them

Emarith then walked over to the last man in the room. "This is Baelom, he is my wife's brother and a dear friend of mine."

"Nice to meet you too." Sarah said.

Baelom smiled and nodded his head.

Emarith then came and sat next to Sarah. "And you are Sarah, from the aboveground as I understand."

"Yes that's right." Sarah said.

Baelom looked quizzically at Sarah. "Is it also true that you once defeated Jareth at his own Labyrinth?"

"Yes, that is true." Sarah said, beginning to relax a little.

"Remarkable, so I assume your baby was returned to you." Baelom questioned.

"That's right." Sarah said, beaming slightly. "Well he was my brother, but I got him back all the same." Sarah them frowned slightly. "Jareth doesn't still steal babies does he?" She asked.

"No, not really." Emarith said quickly. "But strictly speaking it wasn't him who stole the children, it was the goblins and he was left with the mess to clean up. But they haven't taken a child for many years now, I believe your brother was the last one and before that, I don't remember when the last one was."

"Those poor children, getting turned into goblins." Sarah said, shaking her head.

Emarith chuckled slightly, "No, no my child. None of them were turned into goblins, they were adopted, usually by Jareth's subjects or subjects from neighboring kingdoms such as mine." He said. "There really wasn't anything sinister about it, a young woman would wish away her child, she was too young, she couldn't handle it. Jareth would give her a chance to win the child back, she would fail and would be sent back to the aboveground and if she had anymore children she would be older and wiser, be able to handle it better."

"Maybe I defeated the labyrinth because Toby wasn't my child to wish away." Sarah said, smiling slightly, thinking about the first time she had met Jareth.

"Maybe indeed." Emarith said as he sat down again and the room went silent.

There was then a sharp knock on the door and without waiting for a reply in walked Karl, the Elvin healer, he bowed down the people in the room.

Sarah stood up. "How is he?" She asked, her voice shaking. She bit her bottom lip and twisted on her underdress as she waited desperately for a reply.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Karl looked at Sarah, looked deep into her eyes, studying her carefully for a moment, like a lion may study it's pray before it pounces.

"He'll live." He said slowly and carefully.

Sarah's expression immediately changed, a large smile spreading across her face. "Thank you." She said as she wiped her glistening eyes with a hand, and then sank down into the nearest chair.

The other occupants of the room had also stood up when Karl entered and now each one bowed their heads in gratitude to the elvin healer.

Karl then looked over to Sarah, she was leaning her head to one side, still smiling. He held his hand out to her, "the king wishes to see you," he said.

Sarah stood up, smoothing out the front of her underdress, trying to make herself more presentable, unfortunately this was proving quite difficult as the dress was quite grubby. "He wants to see me now?" She asked as she tried to wipe off a particularly large smear of dirt.

Karl shook his head, "I did advise against it, but he insisted, very stubborn man you know, just like his father." He said sighing.

Sarah looked around at Darton, Baelom and Emarith.

Karl then spoke again. "Also a very impatient man, got a bit of a temper on him as you may know." He said, smirking slightly.

Sarah looked a bit confused for a second until she got an obvious wink from the elf. She smiled back at him and held out her arm for him to take.

The two of them walked quickly towards the infirmary in silence. The walk seemed to go on for ever for Sarah, even though it couldn't have taken more that five minutes. As they approached the infirmary doors Sarah could feel butterflies beginning to form in her stomach and by the time they reached the door, her stomach was in a tight knot. They stopped outside the door and Karl spoke.

"The King may be alive, but that doesn't mean he is one hundred percent fighting fit" He said, a look of concern in his crystal blue eyes. "If it was anyone else I would have refused to let anyone see them until at least the morning. So I ask you please not to stay for too long, I'm sure Jareth will insist he is fine. No matter how many times I remind him that I am the healer and he is not." He continued, smiling, and shaking his head slightly.

Sarah nodded and paused for a second. "Does he know about Davron?" She asked softly.

Karl sighed and nodded his head slowly. "He was a kind man." He said. "A good man. The moment the king woke up he was asking about everyone's well being, he could barely talk, but he was so relived when I told him you were safe, unfortunately that relief was short lived when I had to tell him about Davron's death." The elf shook his head sadly for a moment.

Meanwhile Sarah's heart had leapt into her mouth from discovering that it had been her that Jareth had first asked after.

"One other thing." The elf said as he picked up a silver goblet from the table that sat next to the door, he handed it to Sarah. "Some more medicine for you."

"I'm fine." Sarah said as she held the goblet.

"Another wannabe healer are we." Karl said, smiling slightly. "I know it is not the nicest drink in the world, but it does the job, so I would be most grateful if you could drink it, I told the king I wouldn't let you in until you did. He is most concerned for your well being you know."

Sarah smiled back and drank the strange concoction quickly, then handed the goblet back to Karl.

"Thank you." He said as he placed the goblet back on the table. He then opened the door slowly and placed his other hand on the small of Sarah's back, guiding her into the dimly lit room and shutting the door behind her.

ooo

There were six beds in the room Sarah had just entered, each with curtains that could be pulled round them if the occupant required some privacy. He floor was stone, like most of the rest of the castle, but the stone was mostly covered was rugs and carpets of varying states of repair. There were several closed doors in the room and next to the door was a nurse sitting at a desk writing out some notes, she smiled at Sarah as she entered the room, then got back to her work.

Jareth was lying in the furthest away bed, he had also looked up when Sarah had entered the room, but unlike the nurse, he was still looking at her.

When she didn't make any attempt to catch his eye or walk over to him Jareth spoke "well come on Sarah, I haven't go all day you know."

Sarah looked slightly startled for a second, but quickly walked over to Jareth's bedside.

When Sarah reached the bed Jareth took her hands in his, rubbing them slightly, as they felt cold. He smiled up at her, Sarah smiled back.

Jareth was naked from the waist up except for a bandage round his arm and over his stomach and of course the golden pendent he never went without. Well at least Sarah assumed he was only naked from the waist up, she gazed further down to see there was a blanket covering his bottom half, Sarah blushed slightly from thinking about what the blanket might cover, Jareth looked at her quizzically, so she decided she was spending to much time thinking about the current extent of his nakedness and quickly looked back to his head.

Jareth spoke. "Are you ok?" He asked, looking genuinely concerned and squeezing her hands slightly.

"I'm fine." She said quickly. "I drank some more medicine before I came to see you."

Jareth smiled at that. "Good girl." He said.

"How are you feeling?" Sarah asked.

"A little worse for wear as you might imagine." Jareth replied, smiling weakly.

Sarah bit her lip. What a stupid question to ask, she thought to herself, of course he isn't ok, he nearly died and one of his dearest friends is now dead and it was all her fault.

"I'm sorry." She said as a single tear escaped from a deep hazel eye. "It's all my fault."

Jareth looked up at her, wiping the tear from her cheek. "It's not your fault Sarah. You didn't kill Davron, you didn't nearly kill me. Tharman is the one who should be sorry, and he will be." He said, squeezing Sarah's hands tightly and gritting his teeth.

"No, no it is my fault." Sarah said is she took a step back from Jareth, pulling he hands from his grip to wipe the tears that were now flowing at a steady rate down her face. "If I hadn't been so stupid to run away, if I had just did what you'd said none of this would have happened."

"Don't be silly." Jareth said trying tohold Sarah's hands again, but she pulled them out of reach. "Something like this was bound to happen sooner or later, the tension between mine and Tharman's kingdom has been at breaking point for several years. It wasn't a question of if it would happen it was a question of when it would happen, a full blown war between us that is."

Jareth paused for a second, thinking about the implications of a full blown war, a loud sniff from Sarah brought him back to reality. "And yes Sarah, maybe I was a bit to harsh on you, you had every right to be angry with me." He said.

Sarah shook her head. "No, you were right with what you said, I was just too blind to see the truth. Nobody wants me, which is understandable, I just destroy lives." She said sighing.

"I want you Sarah." Jareth said and then quickly looked away from her, deciding next time he should think before he spoke as that sentence defiantly sounded less sexual in his head.

Sarah looked at her feet, she could feel herself blushing, then she remembered back to Tharman's castle.

_You can't die. You can't die because I love you._

Did she love him, or was it just a heat of the moment thing, and did Jareth remember her saying she loved him or was he too out of it to remember anything. She bit her lip trying to work out all these things in her head. No she wouldn't bring it up, now was not the right moment.

Jareth looked out of the window, contemplating what he had just said, it was defiantly true but it was defiantly not the right choice of words to express his feelings. He thought back to Tharman's castle, as he hung from the wall bleeding to death and Tharman walked away with Sarah.

_You can't die. You can't die because I love you._

Did she love him, or was it just a heat of the moment thing, she probably didn't even remember saying it, people say strange things when they are upset or distressed, and upset and distress an cause amnesia in some cases. No he wouldn't bring it up, now was not the right moment.

The awkward silence was broken by the nurse, who was now standing at the end of Jareth's bed, clearing her throat loudly.

Sarah and Jareth both looked over at her as she walked round the side of the bed and placed a goblet on the bedside table next to Jareth. "Time for your next dose your majesty." She said as she indicated to the goblet she had just put down. She then curtsied and headed back to her desk.

Jareth picked up the goblet, wrinkling up his nose as he brought it to his lips. He drank the entire thing in one go and then placed the goblet back down, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "Foul stuff that." He said, trying to lighten the atmosphere.

Sarah smiled, a genuine smile, her face was still wet with tears though. "Yeah, pretty foul." She said.

Jareth smiled back and then gazed out the window again, Sarah bit her lip nervously wondering what to do now.

After several minutes Jareth turned back to look at Sarah, he beckoned her forward. "Please understand Sarah, no one does, or ever will blame you for what happened." He said as he took her hands in his once more. "Davron" He choked slightly on saying his dear friend's name. "Davron knew the risks, he knew the dangers." He said more confidently. "Blaming yourself for his death would be an insult to his memory, he was killed, no, murdered by Tharman in cold blood. But I tell you now Sarah, this is just the beginning, Tharman doesn't know what he has let himself in for."

Sarah looked down at the goblin king, a single tear had fallen from his eye and had now dripped onto his bare chest. The next thing she did, she didn't know why she did it, it just seemed right at the moment. She bent down and hugged Jareth round the neck, holding him.

Jareth couldn't remember the last time he had been held like this, but it felt good, he felt safe. He reached his arms round Sarah, returning the embrace and inhaling her scent deeply.

After several moments Sarah pulled away. "I should go, you need your rest." She said.

"Thank you Sarah." Jareth said as he kissed her hand.

Sarah curtsied and left the room quickly, the king's eyes following her all the way.


	17. Chapter 17

Here's a wee chapter for you, sorry it's been so long, I've been so busy with exams and stuff, enjoy! xxx

**Chapter 17**

Sarah closed the infirmary doors quietly behind her and set off down the hallway. She pondered whether or not to just head straight back to her room, but she decided that would be a bit rude so she headed back to the small cozy living room she had woken up in not so long ago.

She pushed the door open carefully and walked in.

Two of the men were still there, sitting in armchairs near the fire, one of them was snoring softly.

Emarith looked round to the door and smiled as Sarah entered, Baelom continued snoring.

"How is he?" Emarith asked quietly as he stood up and walked over to Sarah.

"He's ok" Sarah said. "Better than when I last saw him." She added, smiling slightly.

Emarith smiled as well. "That's good." He said as he nodded his head.

"Where is Darton?" Sarah enquired as she looked over to the sleeping figure of Baelom.

"He has gone to the mortuary." Emarith answered. "To see Davron."

"Ah right." Sarah mumbled quietly as she looked down at her feet, twiddling her fingers nervously.

"He left soon after you did." Emarith continued. "Baelom and I offered to accompany him, but he declined. And Baelom over there, fell asleep soon after." He said as he indicated to the sleeping man at the other side of the room. "He's not as young as he used to be."

Sarah was still staring at her feet, Emarith noticed this so he took a gloved hand and carefully lifted her chin up.

"It's not your fault Sarah." He said softly.

Sarah looked up at him, deep into his eyes as she had done many times with Jareth, she paused for a second, "I know." She said softly.

Emarith smiled and took a step back. "You must be cold." He said.

Sarah rubbed her arms, she was a bit cold but she hadn't really noticed till now.

"You can borrow my cloak." Emarith continued as he walked over to the couch where the cloak lay. He picked it up and took it back over to Sarah, holding it out for her.

Sarah shook her head. "Thank you Emarith, but I think I'm just going to head back to my room and get cleaned up."

"That's fine." Emarith said as he wrapped the cloak round Sarah. "You may borrow it to keep you warm until you get some other clothes."

Sarah smiled, she had a strong sense of deja vu, only a few nights ago Jareth had done the exact same thing. They were so similar, Jareth and Emarith, same manorisms, same good looks. Emarith seemed to be the calmer of the though, Jareth had a bit of a temper on him.

"Would you like me to escort you to your room?" Emarith asked, interrupting Sarah's chain of thought.

"No thanks." Sarah said. "I'm sure you have more important things to do."

"Quite the opposite." Emarith said as he opened the door for Sarah.

"Thank you." Sarah said as she walked out the door into the hallway, Emarith following behind.

Sarah and Emarith walked side by side to her room, not as close as perhaps her and Jareth might have walked, but close enough. They talked mostly about Sarah's home and her love of fantasy books, Emarith was particularly fascinated by televisions, radios and all things electric Sarah complained about the lack of proper toilets in the underground, Emarith laughed slightly as he told her that there was such a thing as a flushing toilet in the underground, Jareth just hadn't got around to installing them in his castle.

"Thank you for walking me." Sarah said as they reached the door of her room.

"My pleasure." Emarith said. "I shall see you later." He continued as he bowed his head slightly and headed back down the corridor.

Sarah opened the door to her room and closed it carefully. The first thing she did was close the still open window and lock it. She then went over to the bath and turned on the taps, it filled surprisingly quickly , she placed her clothes over the nearby chair and stepped in carefully, the warm water feeling so good against her skin.

Sarah relaxed in the bath for several minutes, closing her eyes and sinking right into the water. She then washed herself and when her fingers were beginning to wrinkle she climbed out and wrapped herself in a towel.

Sarah then tip toed quickly across the cold stone floor and sat up on the bed. She looked around for something to wear, then remembered her nightshirt was some where in the fiery forest and shuddered to remember that her dress was in Tharman's castle.

She contemplated trying to find Ragna or someone but then decided they probably had more important things to do. So yawning widely, she decided to just slip under the covers for a small nap, after all she was exhausted.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

Sarah awoke after what she assumed was a few hours sleep, but the sound of the morning chorus from the birds told her differently. She looked over at the clock by her bed, it was nearly 7.30, so she decided to get up since she had been asleep for quite long enough

She climbed out of the bed and stretched carefully as she headed to the bathroom, her muscles were aching slightly. She was still stretching as she came back from the bathroom and almost didn't notice the dress that had been carefully draped over the chair. She picked it up, it was nearly the same design as her previous dress, except this time it was layered with colors green. There was also underwear and matching shoes placed on the chair for her.

She was still looking at the dress when there was a soft knock on the door, she was about to tell them to come in when she realized she was still naked, so she quickly pulled a sheet off the bed and beckoned her visitor to enter.

The door opened slowly and Emarith poked his head round the door.

"I'm terribly sorry." He said. "I'll come back later when you are dressed."

"No no." Sarah said quickly. "Please come in."

Emarith hesitated slightly and then opened the door fully, stepping into the room.

"I was just coming to see if you were awake." He said, "and to see if you would be ready for breakfast at around 8."

"Yes that would be lovely." Sarah said as she clutched her sheet. "I think I'll be ready for 8."

"Excellent." Emarith said. "I'll come back at 8 to escort you to the dining hall." He then bowed and left Sarah's room, closing the door behind him, without another word.

ooo

Sarah and Emarith entered the dining hall just after 8. It was the same setup as before, with a selection of food on the table for you to help yourself to. Baelom and Darton were already seated when Sarah entered but stood up abruptly when she came in, only sitting back down when she had taken her seat.

Sarah helped herself to food from the hot plates, she was quite hungry this morning and she proceeded to stuff her face with various foods, slightly glad that Jareth wasn't here to see her shovel food into her mouth.

Once she had slowed down with her intake of food Emarith began speaking to her.

"There are many people coming to the castle today." He said. "Many important people, friends and allies of Jareth."

"Are they going to help Jareth fight Tharman?" Sarah enquired.

"Well that's what he hopes." Emarith answered. "He sent out a summons last night, to everyone he could think of and I am pretty sure Tharman has done the exact same thing, he has many powerful friends too."

"This is going to be a pretty big war then." Sarah said.

"Yes, I imagine it is." Emarith said sighing. "I wouldn't be surprised if the whole of the underground gets involved in this one. I just hope we will be on the winning side."

"A world war." Sarah said. She stared transfixed at the opposite wall, was this all her doing, how many more people will die because of her? She absent mindedly took a drink of orange juice and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. A slight laugh from Emarith brought her out of her daydream.

"What?" She enquired.

Emarith smiled. "You are like no other lady I have ever met." He said

"Is that a bad thing?" She asked, her eyebrows slightly raised.

"No no." Emarith said, still smiling. "You are unique, it is a good thing."

Sarah smiled just as Darton stood up from the table.

"I am off to make the final arrangements for Davron's funeral." He said. "If you will excuse me." He then bowed to Sarah and left the room.

"When is the funeral?" Sarah enquired.

"Sometime this afternoon I think." Baelom said. "Or whenever everyone who is attending has arrived, Jareth told the relevant people of Davron's death with the summons. I think Darton may be off talking to the king, just making sure he is fit enough to attend the funeral today."

Sarah nodded, "I see." She said.

ooo

Jareth had moved back into his own room that morning, much to the displeasure of Karl who had tried everything he could think of to convince him otherwise.

"You're not out of the woods yet." Karl had shouted after Jareth as he hobbled down the hallway. "Don't come crying to me if you drop down dead!"

Jareth smiled slightly, the elf was known to exaggerate sometimes, this being one of them. He may not be completely healed yet, the king thought, but there was a war to organize and sitting around in the infirmary wasn't going to help at all.

He rounded the next corner and nearly walked straight into Darton.

"Your majesty." Darton said as he bowed down. "I was just on my way to speak to you, about the arrangements for my brothers funeral."

"Ah yes." Jareth said as he placed a slightly shaky hand on Darton's shoulder. "Walk with me." He said as he began walking down the hallway.

"Everyone who wishes to attend is on their way." Darton said. "I was hoping to have the funeral early evening tonight, my sister lives the furthest away and should be here around 4, assuming that is alright with you."

"Yes that should be fine." Jareth said as they reached his bedroom door. "Is there anything I can do to help with the organization?" He enquired.

"No no." Darton said quickly. "You need your rest."

Jareth smiled. "No rest for the wicked I'm afraid, there is a war afoot." He said as he gave a hearty cough.

"Promise me you'll at least get some rest." Darton said as he placed a hand on the kings shoulder. "Davron wouldn't want you to work yourself to death just for him."

Jareth smiled, that would be exactly what Davron would want. "Ok." He said.

Darton bowed and then headed off down the hall as Jareth walked into his room.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

Sarah excused herself from the dining room about five minutes after Darton left. She had wandered slowly back to her room and was now sitting on her bed, which had been made in her absence, swinging her legs.

She looked down at the green dress she was wearing and decided it wasn't really fit for a funeral. For a second Sarah contemplated finding Jareth and asking him for something she could wear, but decided he probably had more important things to do so she got off the bed and walked out the door in search of someone who could help her.

ooo

Jareth carefully filled up a small basin with warm water from the porcelain jug that sat next to it. He removed his top carefully, wincing slightly. His wounds were still dressed with bandages, so he carefully took a sponge and washed the rest of his unbandaged self.

He then walked over to one of the large wooden wardrobes in the room and took out some fresh clothes, black trousers and a black, loose fitting, shirt which he put on carefully. He then put on one of his many pairs of black boots and a set of black leather gloves, pulling them tight over his hands.

Jareth then walked over to another wardrobe and chose a jacket to wear, brown leather with a high collar and fastening over to one side. He then stood in front of one of the full length mirrors in the room, he ran his hand through his hair and tugged on the bottom of the jacket nervously, there was then a light chap on the door.

"Enter." Jareth said as confidently as he could.

Dolina entered the room, her face was sullen and tear stained. "King Aldaronna and Queen Gilraen from the northern kingdom of the elves are here your majesty" She said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Thank you Dolina." Jareth said as he approached the maid. She was staring unblinkingly out the window. He took her chin in a gloved hand and spoke softly to her. "You miss Davron?" He enquired, but he already knew the answer.

Dolina nodded.

Jareth took his hand away from her chin and rubbed her arms that hung limply at her sides. "We have to be strong for him Dolina." He said. "It will be hard, but we must try."

Dolina nodded again.

Jareth smiled slightly and took a step back. "You may go now Dolina." He said. "There is much to do today."

Dolina curtsied and left the room. Jareth followed her out of the door, closing it behind him and heading off to the throne room to great his guests.

ooo

Sarah walked slowly round the castle, several maids and servants passed her, but they were gone before she could even open her mouth to talk to them. She rounded the next corner and saw that the door directly ahead of her was open slightly so she tiptoed up to it and peered in.

Ragna was down on all fours scrubbing at a fireplace which was particularly sooty.

"Hi." Sarah said.

Ragna looked round, he face had several black smears of soot on it, she got up quickly, wiping her hands on her apron, "Lady Sarah." She said as she curtsied.

"You don't need to do that." Sarah said as she approached the maid.

Ragna looked confused.

"Curtsy I mean." Sarah said. "It's just a bit, you know, weird."

"I apologize." Ragna said. "It's just what I have been taught." She continued, shrugging her shoulders.

"You don't need to apologize, I'm just not used to it, I should be the one apologizing really." Sarah said.

Ragna smiled.

"I was just wondering if you could help me." Sarah said. "That is, only if you're not too busy."

"There is a lot of work to be done." Ragna said. "The King is expecting many visitors, important people from all over the underground, and important people like that can't stay in rooms with dirty sooty fireplaces." She continued as she wiped her forehead with a hand, smearing more soot on it.

"Oh right." Sarah said as she turned to leave the room.

"Wait." Ragna said as she ran towards Sarah. "I didn't mean I wouldn't help you, I just thought you might want to know what's going on, please what is it you need."

Sarah stopped, Ragna looked a bit flustered, Sarah smiled. "I was just wondering if you could get me something to wear for Davron's funeral, this I don't think is very suitable." She said as she indicated the dress she was currently wearing.

"Ah yes, of course, right away miss I'll find you something." Ragna said quickly.

"You don't need to go right away, just sometime before the funeral." Sarah said quickly as Ragna headed towards the door.

Ragna stopped. "Ok, I shall get you something and leave it in your room." She said.

"That would be great Ragna, thank you very much." Sarah said, smiling.

Ragna smiled back. "You're welcome miss." She said.

Sarah then left the room letting Ragna get back to the fireplace scrubbing.

ooo

Jareth entered the throne room to see the elvish King and Queen waiting for him.

He bowed to them both. "King Aldaronna, Queen Gilraen. Thank you for coming so quickly." He said.

They both bowed back. "King Jareth." Aldaronna Said. "It has been a long time, unfortunately it is not under the best of circumstances we meet again."

Jareth shook his head. "Indeed it is not." He said.

"You may also be aware that soon after a received your summons I also received a summons from king Tharman." Aldaronna said.

"I thought as much." Jareth said, shaking his head.

"The cheek of the man." Aldaronna continued. "Barely 100 years after he tried to pass a decree saying that only the fae were fit to be rulers of kingdoms populated by more that 300, 000."

Jareth shook his head. "He lost and also gained support with that little move."

"Yes, but the support he gained, not really my taste in beings shall we say." Aldaronna said, shaking his head.

Jareth nodded. "Mostly from the eastern kingdoms, trolls, grimeshees, various daemonic creatures like that. All with kingdoms populated with less than 300,000 of course" He said. "They mostly keep themselves to themselves, you don't bother them, they don't bother you. I dread to think what would happen if they join Tharman in this war, they can be very very nasty."

"Yes, they can be." Aldaronna said.

"I'm sorry how rude of me." Jareth said as he clapped his hands sharply together. "You must be exhausted after your journey."

A maid appeared at the doorway and curtsied to each of the people in the room.

"Please will you show King Aldaronna and Queen Gilraen to their room." Jareth said

The maid curtsied again and waited for the king and queen to follow her out of the room.

"Thank you for your hospitality Jareth." Gilraen said, speaking for the first time since Jareth had entered the room.

"You are most welcome, but it is I who should be thanking you for assisting me in my hour of need." Jareth said, smiling at the elvin queen.

Gilraen smiled back. "Our kingdoms have been allies for thousands of years, many wars we have fought side by side, that is not about to change." She said and then followed her husband out of the throne room.

ooo

Sarah was back wandering the stone hallways of Jareth's castle. The atmosphere seemed to have changed since yesterday, as if the castle too had felt the loss of Davron. She rounded the next corner and came to a large wooden door with a brass handle. Sarah contemplated turning back, but curiosity got the better of her. She pulled at the handle and to her surprise the door opened easily. It lead out into a courtyard, there was a large set of stables and various barns round about it.

Sarah stepped outside, the air was still quite chilly and there was still some snow dotted around the place. She headed towards the first stable, curious to see if there were any horses currently in residence. To her delight, as she neared the stable a horse stuck its head out to greet her, she stroked its head carefully. She had never been a particularly horsey person but she could see what their appeal might be.

She giggled as the horse pushed its head into her hand. "What's your name then?" She enquired and then almost jumped out of her skin when she heard someone shouting at her.

"Oi what you doing?" Came the voice from across the courtyard and then the sound of quick footsteps across the stone.

Sarah turned round, biting her lip. Had see been doing something wrong, was there some kind of law here forbidding you from touching horses?

The boy who had been shouting to her got closer, she could see now he looked about her age, maybe slightly younger. But you could never tell with the people here, living to be hundreds of years old and all that.

The boy got closer still then suddenly stopped dead, crouching down on one knee and bowing his head. "I'm so sorry milady." He said, his voice sounded panicky. "I thought you were trying to steal a horse, I'm so sorry."

Sarah put her hand on her chest, her slight panic over, the boy was still crouched on the ground. "You can get up now if you want." she said.

The boy looked up nervously and slowly got up.

Sarah walked towards him as he stood rooted to the spot. "I'm Sarah." She said as she extended a hand to him.

The boy looked at her hand for a second, then took it in his own, giving it a small shake "I'm Danny." He said.

"Nice to meet you," Sarah said, smiling.

Danny looked at her for a second, she was shivering slightly. "You look cold." He said. "Shouldn't you be in the castle or something?" He said.

Sarah shook her head. "Maybe I should, but I thought I would have a look round here." She said.

Danny smiled. "These are the biggest stables in the kingdom." He said proudly. "My old dad's worked her as a blacksmith for near his whole life, now he's showing me the ropes."

Sarah looked around. "They are pretty massive." She said.

"You want to come see his workshop?" Danny enquired.

Sarah nodded her head. "Sure." She said.

Danny took her hand and led her back in the direction he had come from, they rounded a corner and came to a huge workshop. Inside there were swords, shields, arrow, spears, armor and everything you might need for a war.

"Everyone has been working overtime since, well you know, since war was declared." He explained.

"Wow," Sarah exclaimed as she looked around.

Danny showed her all the various swords and things, letting her hold them. She was surprised at how light they were. She even got a shot of one of the helmets, it was way too big for her head and it kept clanging about every time she moved.

"It's pretty noisy in here, how bout we go over to where they shoe the horses, it quieter there." Danny shouted as Sarah took the helmet off.

Sarah nodded and followed him to another workshop beside the first one, there was an old looking man banging away at a horseshoe on an anvil in the middle of the room.

"Dad, this is Sarah." Danny said.

"Nice to meet you." Sarah said as the old man looked up.

His eyes widened. "Lady Sarah." He said as he bowed his head down.

"Please, just Sarah will do." Sarah said quickly.

The old man beckoned his son forward. "Do you know who this is?" He said in a hushed voice.

"Well yes." Danny said. "Her name is Sarah…"

"Yes I know her name is Sarah." The old man snapped. "She is Sarah of the aboveground, the one the King himself went to get from earth only a few days ago."

Danny looked horrified at this. "I'm so sorry." He said quickly as he bowed his head. "I didn't realize who you were."

"There's no need to be sorry Danny." Sarah said quickly. "I had loads of fun."

Danny looked up. "You did?" He said, looking slightly skeptical.

Sarah nodded "Yes I did." She said.

Danny's face relaxed slightly, but then again he bowed his head down and his father did the same.

"Ah Sarah, there you are." Jareth said as he walked in the door of the workshop.

"Jareth." Sarah said, looking slightly alarmed. "Erm, how are you feeling?" She enquired

"I am doing better now thanks" Jareth said. "I was hoping you would like to join me for lunch now."

"Umm, yes that would be lovely." Sarah said.

Jareth smiled and held out his arm for Sarah to take.

"It was nice to meet you Danny." Sarah said as she left the workshop holding Jareth's arm.

Danny looked up as Sarah left walked out the door. "It was nice to meet you too." He mouthed silently


	20. Chapter 20

Hey guys, I'm sorry it's been so long! I hadn't forgotton, i'd just never got round to finishing this chaper, well enjoy!

xxx

**Chapter 20**

Sarah and Jareth were sitting in a small room that served mainly as Jareth's office space, a place where he could get away from everyone and do his work without distraction, but today they were using it as a place to eat lunch. Jareth placed his knife and fork together and pushed his plate to one side, he had hardly eaten anything and Sarah noticed this.

"I had a large breakfast." Jareth lied when he noticed Sarah's enquiring eyes.

Sarah contemplated regurgitating all that stuff about eating to keep ones strength up he had said to her when she had not been eating, but decided against it and just nodded her head.

Jareth rubbed his neck nervously when Sarah didn't say anything. "I'm sorry I didn't come and see you this morning, I have many visitors coming in the next few days, I have been very busy." He explained.

"That's ok Jareth." She said. "I know you have been busy."

Jareth smiled at her. "Thank you for understanding." He said. "And I'm afraid I have to head off again." He continued as he got up from his chair. "You may stay in here for as long as you want."

Sarah nodded as Jareth headed to the door, he opened it slowly. "Davron's funeral is at 5 today." He said quickly, not looking at her. "I will come get you at quarter to five." And with that he left the room without another word.

ooo

Sarah was ready and waiting in her room and at exactly quarter to five Jareth tapped lightly on the door, then walked straight in, not waiting for a reply.

He was wearing what he had on earlier, except he was now wearing a black jacket and a black clock.

Sarah had on a simple black dress, which Ragna had kindly provided for her, it was short sleeved and long, conveniently hiding the green shoes she had on. She also had her hair tied up in a loose ponytail.

Jareth eyed her up and down. "It's cold outside, you'll freeze like that" He said as he walked over to one of the wardrobes and pulled out a black cloak. "Put this on." He said as he handed the cloak to Sarah. She instantly recognized it as the one she had worn when she ran away. She bit her lip as she put the cloak on, this was all her fault this was all her fault….

Jareth looked at her, her face was screwed up in an effort not to cry. He carefully put his arm round her waist, she flinched slightly at the touch, but Jareth kept his arm in place and guided her towards the door.

ooo

The funeral took place outside in the beautiful gardens in the castle grounds and Davron was to be buried in the castles graveyard, a great honor as it was usually reserved for members of the royal family.

There were many hundreds present at the funeral, from the lowest servants in the castle to visiting Kings and Queens.

Jareth and Darton both spoke about Davron at the funeral, how he had been a great and brave man. During Jareth's speech Sarah noticed a young girl standing by Darton, she looked maybe 15 or 16 and was gripping tightly onto Darton, sobbing silently. Darton hushed her and rubbed her hair gently. Davron and Darton's sister, Sarah thought, all three looked so similar.

The head priest ended the funeral by blessing the people at the funeral and then blessing Davron's soul wishing it on to the paradise of the afterlife. Sarah watched as Davron's coffin was lowered gently into the ground. The priest then let off a single white dove, symbolizing Davron moving into the afterlife. Sarah watched as the dove flew out of sight.

She was still staring up at the sky, looking for the dove after most of the people at the funeral had left. She felt a strong hand round her waist.

"We should head back inside" Jareth whispered as he guided Sarah back into the castle.

Sarah walked through the castle in a daze. Every so often Jareth would ask her if she was ok and to that she would just nod silently. They stopped suddenly and it took Sarah a few seconds to realize they were at the doors to her room.

"I have to go I'm afraid." Jareth said. " I'll have a maid bring you some food."

"I'm not hungry." Sarah mumbled, Jareth ignored her.

"I'll come and check on you later." He said as he adjusted his gloves, he then planted a soft kiss on Sarah's forehead and took his leave.

ooo

Sarah sat on the bed staring at the tray of food, it had been at least an hour since Ragna had brought it for her. She hadn't really touched much of it and it was stone cold now.

She glanced over at the clock in the room, it was only nine o'clock but she was exhausted. Just as she was contemplating going to bed there was a light tap at the door.

"Come in." Sarah called. To her surprise Jareth strolled into the room.

"Not hungry," he said, noticing the untouched tray off food.

Sarah shook her head, and waited for Jareth to have a go at her.

"Me neither." Jareth said looking slightly sympathetic. "I just thought I'd come and say goodnight, it's been a long day and I need to rest."

Sarah nodded her head and watched as Jareth walked back over to the door. "Jareth." She said just before he reached it. "Umm, I was wondering if you would stay here with me tonight."

Jareth turned round and looked her up and down, Sarah blushed slightly.

"I just don't want to be on my own tonight, that's all." Sarah continued as she fiddled with her hair. "If you don't want to that's fine." She said quickly when Jareth said nothing.

"Of course I will." Jareth said as he walked back from the door.

Sarah looked at him for a second then picked her nighty up from the bed, Jareth turned away from her, so she could get changed while he himself removed his jacket, boots, shirt and gloves placing them carefully on a nearby chair.

He turned back to find Sarah pulling back the covers of the large double bed and climbing in. Jareth walked to the other side and climbed in himself.

The two of them lay in the bed in silence for a few minutes, then Sarah moved her head, placing it gently on Jareth's chest. Jareth stroked her hair carefully.

"You don't mind my head here?" Sarah asked quietly.

"Not at all." Jareth replied.

Sarah was asleep within minutes, she sighed in her sleep, her breath tickling Jareth's chest. Jareth shivered slightly as something stirred deep within his heart, he smiled and put his arm round Sarah, pulling her closer. He closed his eyes and thought quietly to himself that if he was to die now, he would be the happiest man in the underground.


	21. Chapter 21

Hey everyone, I know its been ages! I havnt forgotton i have just been very busy. Well enjoy, i'll try to get back into the writing of this story so hopefully you wont be waiting for too long for the next chappy!

xxx

**Chapter 21**

Jareth woke early the next morning, it was still dark outside. Sarah was asleep in his arms, she looked so peaceful, so he slipped out of bed carefully trying not to wake her. He dressed in silence, wincing slightly as his wounds were still tender. He gazed back over to Sarah who was still fast asleep before placing a soft kiss on her forehead. With that he quickly left the room, closing the door softly behind him.

ooo

Sarah woke several hours later and was a bit disappointed to find she was alone in the bed, but she was still grateful that she had gone to sleep in Jareth's arms even if she couldn't wake up in them.

She climbed out of bed and pulled on the green dress she had been wearing for part of yesterday and was pleased to find a hairbrush had been left on the dresser. She picked it up and sat in front of the mirror as she began to brush her hair slowly.

She glanced at the clock, it was nearly 8 o'clock. Sarah wondered if she should maybe head to the dining hall for breakfast but her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Come in." Sarah said loudly and was pleased to see Emarith enter the room.

"Sarah," he said smiling. "I have come to escort you to breakfast," he continued.

Sarah got up and walked towards the door and Emarith. "Thank you." She said as she smiled back at him. Sarah took Emarith's arm and they walked down to the dining hall together.

ooo

Sarah and Emarith walked into the dining room, there were three large tables set out instead of the usual one, each with about twenty people sitting at them. Sarah gasped, some of the people certainly did not look human, fae or even elvish. Emarith noticed her gasp and placed his hand lightly over hers, guiding her over to the table where Baelom and Darton were sitting. She took her seat next to Baelom and Emarith sat beside her. There was a buzz of chattering throughout the large dining hall.

"These are some of the most important people in the Underground." Emarith told Sarah. "They have answered Jareth's summons to fight beside him in this war, there is going to be a meeting about it in a couple of hours."

Sarah nodded, showing that she understood. She glanced around the room, trying to find Jareth.

"He's not here." Emarith said, noticing what Sarah was doing. "He was in the armory earlier, I'm not sure what he's doing now, probably setting up for the meeting."

"He should be resting." Sarah said. "At least for a short while."

"Too true." Emarith said nodding. "He's not a very trusting man is Jareth, he likes to see things for himself, doesn't like to hear about things from other people, especially when it comes to something as important as preparing for a war."

Sarah nodded and helped herself to some orange juice as Emarith put bacon, eggs and toast onto her plate. Sarah sniggered.

Emarith heard her. "I'm under strict orders from Jareth." He said, smirking. "You're to clear your plate or I'll be in trouble."

"Don't worry, I will." Sarah said and true to her word she ate every last bite.

ooo

The meeting started prompty at nine o'clock. Sarah sat silently in the gallery of the meeting hall, looking down at the happenings below. There were several other people up there with her, all just as silent as her. She had begged and begged Jareth to let her in on the meeting, eventually he had let her seeing that she was not going to take no for an answer.

Jareth and the other leaders were sitting at a huge table with maps and various other things strewn all over it. The meeting was mostly people calmly talking but sometimes an argument would break out, some so bad that people had actually left the room and not returned. Sarah wasn't entirely sure what was going one a lot off the time because sometimes the parcipitants talked in strange languages she didn't understand. But she still listened intently, hopeing to pick up some of what was being said.

ooo

After several hours, but what seemed like days to Sarah, the meeting took a break for lunch. Sarah got out of her seat slowly, her legs ached from being sat down for so long. She carefully climbed down the narrow, stone, spiral staircase and nearly walked straight into Jareth who was waiting for her at the bottom.

"Hi Jareth," Sarah said breathlessly.

Jareth smiled at her. "I was hoping you might like to join me for lunch Sarah." He said.

"Of course I will," Sarah said, finding it a slightly odd request seeing as she assumed they were just heading to the dining hall.

"A private lunch that is," Jarath added as he ran his gloved hand through his hair. "I've just spent the last four hours with all my visitors, I don't know if I can handle making small talk over lunch with them."

Sarah nodded "yes that's fine Jareth, I would like that very much." She said.

Jareth smiled and took Sarah by the arm, leading her to his private study for lunch.

ooo

After they had both eaten their fill, Jareth piled the plates in the middle of the table.

"Are you meeting again with everyone this afternoon?" Sarah enquired.

"Yes I'm afraid so," Jarath said as he rubbed the back of his neck. "And I would rather you were not present this time Sarah."

Sarah opened her mouth to protest but Jarath was too quick and spoke again before she could.

"I let you in this morning as a favour to you, I feel the meetings will be getting more heated from now on and I would rather you were not there." Jareth said, a slightly dangerous glint in his eyes.

Sarah frowned, she knew there was no point arguing with him.

Jareth noticed her frown, "I'm sure you'll find something to entertain yourself this afternoon." He said as he got up from his chair. "I will see you this evening." He continued as he left the room, shutting the door behind him.

Sarah slumped in her seat, what was she going to do for the rest of the day? She thought for a moment then got up from the chair and left the room, heading towards the stables.


	22. Chapter 22

No your eyes dont deceive you, I have actually updated this story! Enjoy xxx

**Chapter 22**

The door slammed against the wall so hard it cracked in two, King Tharman wanted to make his presence know as he walked into the infirmary to check on his son. Everyone in the room looked towards the floor, not daring to look the king in the eye, fearing his wrath.

Tharman strided confidently over to the bed where Sebastian lay.

"Well!" He barked at the doctor standing by the bed, "has it not been long enough now? Will my son live?"

"He-he lost a lot of blood," the doctor stammered nervously keeping his head bent low " he is stable for now, but I can't guarantee he'll live, an infection may take hold and..."

Quick as a flash Tharman's hand was round the doctor's throat, his toes brushed the floor as he was lifted from the ground.

"Oh he will live." Tharman growled. "Because if he dies, so do all of you."

The doctor coughed and spluttered as he crumpled to the floor, Tharman walked back towards the door.

"Jareth and his bitch will pay for what they did to my son." Tharman said as he walked past a line of nurses, none of them dared look up "mark my words they will pay."

"He only got what he deserved" came a whisper from the end of the line, barely audible, but Tharman heard, there was a slap, the nurse fell to the floor.

"Guards!" Tharman Bellowed "Take her to the dungeons." He turned to face the room again "look at me" He said dangerously, all eyes on the room were instantly fixed upon him. "I will not take insolence from my staff, my people, you all belong to me." He picked the nurse up by the hair as the guards entered the room "and I will do to you what I want" he added as they dragged her out the room. "Now back to work!" he shouted, "I have important business to attend to." He continued as he walked out of the room.

ooo

Sarah wandered out towards the stables, she could hear the soft clip clop sound of a horse walking somewhere in the distance, the sound was somewhat comforting. She carried on towards the workshops, seeing a boy standing up brushing a horse in the distance, she quickened her pace slightly as she approached them.

"Danny?" She enquired as she neared the boy. He turned round quickly dropping the brush.

"Lady Sarah!" He said breathlessly as he bowed his head, "how nice to see you again."

"Please" Sarah said as she walked towards him and placed her hand under his chin, lifting his head up "just sarah will do."

Danny grinned "ok ok Sarah." He giggled as he picked the brush up from the ground and continued grooming the horse, who was now stamping his feet, unimpressed that his brushing had ceased.

Sarah gazed at the beast, he was jet black with a white spot on his nose, his coat shone , he was obviously well cared for.

Danny noticed Sarah admiring the horse. "His name is Arodoin, it means noble son, he is from a long line of champion horses. He is the Kings steed and the best horse in the yard."

Sarah smiled "Only the best for the king I suppose."

Danny laughed "of course, could you imagine the uproar if the King rode only the second best horse or had the second best sword, that would never do!"

Sarah laughed aswell, she could of course imagine the look on Jareth's face if he discovered he had anything that was not the best.

"of course all the horses here do belong to the king, as they are his stables, but it is Arodoin here he chooses to ride." Danny continued , "how many horses do you have back home?"

Sarah's face reddeneing slightly "i've never actually rode a horse." She confessed.

Danny's jaw dropped "never ridden a horse!" He exclaimed as he grabbed Sarah's hand "Well I know exactly how to remedy that."

Sarah allowed herself to be dragged towards a stable, giggling all the way.


	23. Chapter 23

Your eyes do not deceive you, just a small chapter, going to try and get back into the swing of things xxx

**Chapter 23**

Danny led Sarah down to a large paddock, Sarah counted at least 30 horses in there.

"Wow you have so many horses," she exclaimed to Danny.

"Thats not even half of them," Danny giggled. "We have 3 other paddocks this size full of horses, though we have a lot of extra ones here at the moment due to all the guests staying at the castle, lucky we have a lot of room!"

Danny pulled Sarah right up to the fence that surrounded the paddock, he let go of her hand and put his fingers in his mouth and let out a long, slightly complicated whistle.

"All of the horses have their own whistle call." He explained as a beautiful grey horse bounded towards them. "Her name is Arora, she is very gentle you will like her." He said as he led the horse towards the gate.

Danny unlatched the gate and harnessed up the horse leading her over to Sarah.

"She's beautiful." Sarah said as she stroked the horses nose carefully. Arora pushed her head into Sarahs hand, obviously liking what she was doing, Sarah giggled.

Danny grabbed Sarahs hand again "round you come" he said as he led her to Aroras side. "now hold onto the saddle and try and pull yourself up, I'll give you a hand."

Sarah gripped the saddle and pulled as Danny pushed her up "swing your leg over the saddle" he said and with one more push Sarah was up.

Sarah wrapped her arms round the horses neck, gripping on tightly fearing she might fall off.

"Sit up straight," Danny shouted up at her, "you wont fall off I promise!"

Sarah gingerly unwrapped her hands, slowly sitting up, she felt a lot more stable sitting up than she thought she would.

Danny gently took the reins and began slowly lead Sarah and Arora round the courtyard.

The horse seemed to have a calming effect on Sarah and for a moment she forget all about the recent horrors. She stroked Aroras soft neck as Danny lead them about.

"I could give you riding lessons if you like." Danny said.

"I would really like that" Sarah replied.

Danny lead them up towards his fathers workshop, smoke was pouring out of the chimney and people were rushing in and out with armfuls of weapons.

"We better not go too close" Danny said as he stopped, "she might get startled, shes still quite young, not used to lots of noise and people running about."

Danny turned and began sroking Aroras nose as Sarah had done previously just as his father appeared at the workshop doors.

"Danny!" He yelled. "Danny we could really do with a hand in here, stop messing about with that horse."

Danny looked up at Sarah, his face crumpled "I should really go an help him, I'm sorry."

"No need to appologise" Sarah said "I know everyone is very busy at the moment."

Danny helped Sarah down from the horse and they both walked Arora back to the paddock.

"I had fun today Danny thank you," Sarah said as she gave him a quick peck on the cheek "I would really like those riding lessons."

Danny blushed slightly and smiled "you betcha" he said as he ran up to join his father.

In the distance the Goblin King growled slighty at what he had just seen, he slammed the door and stormed off back into the castle.


End file.
